Sunday, April 5, 2009

Thought Attacks

There is certainly enough research out there to validate the effects the mind has on our mental and physical health. How do we ever get well or have peace of mind unless we control what we think and believe?

From The Word For You Today

Nineteen-year-old Liu Shih-Kun was an esteemed concert pianist in China till the Cultural Revolution banned all things of Western influence. Refusing to renounce his beloved music, Liu was deemed an enemy of the people, beaten and imprisoned.

There he languished in a tiny cell with no books, no paper, and even worse - nopiano. Six years later, for propaganda reasons, he was asked to play in Beijing with the Philadelphia Orchestra. After yeas without an instrument to practice on, he performed brilliantly. And eighteen months later when he was finally released, he again played flawlessly.

That Liu survived is remarkable; that his hands continued to move as if they'd never stopped playing is amazing. His secret? Stripped of everything musical, for seven and a half years, Liu disciplined himself to shut out negative thoughts and practice hour after hour on an imaginary piano.

A well respected counselor say, "We don't realize the extent to which our own thinking contributes to our mental anguish. The earlier you stop 'thought attacks' the easier it is to regroup and get back on track.

Now, while the concept is simple, it's not easy to implement. Once you start paying attention you'll probably discover you have a lot more 'thought attacks' than you can possibly imagine."

Police shout "Freeze!" when they want to stop a suspect and protect themselves. And you can freeze out harmful thinking by capturing every thought and making it "obedient to Christ" (2 Cor 10:5). Paul says, "This is not a wrestling match against a human opponent. We are wrestling with .... spiritual forces" (Eph. 6:12).

Your thoughts have power. To win over them, you must submit to Christ and control what you allow your mind to dwell on.


Most of us have this verse memorized but application is where the work comes in. Sometimes it's also a change of mindset ... a paradigm shift in being able to truly "see' something. For me with this verse it was a book I read by Jill Bolte Taylor. Jill is a brain scientist and had a massive stroke and through eight years of recovery learned a lot more about the brain and life. The book lays out the anatomical and physiological ability to make "take every thought captive" a real possibility in my life.

Seeing how God created us to be able to fulfill this command makes all the difference in being able to do so. Read more about Jill.

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