Colossians 2:7 says, “Rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 says to bring every thought captive. We combat all negative thoughts through thanksgiving. The moment a thought comes that is negative, distressing, or a cause for fear, make your next thought one of thanksgiving. It breaks the mind-loops instantly. The temptation to dialogue with a rogue thought is immediately combatted. We stand as a victor over the enemy’s temptation that would have unwittingly ensnared us.

Our thoughts either imprison or empower us. It is not what happened to us (past) that affects our thoughts. It is our lack of discipline to bring them captive, therefore causing us to get stuck in a negative rut designed to defeat our faith.

Have you ever felt stuck? Years ago I went for a drive early in the morning to an area that I could hike in on a trial. When I got there, fresh snow covered the road. I had snow tires, but I got stuck. That was way before I had a cellphone.

What to do. Going forward or backward only made it worse. I asked the Lord what to do. He had me lay thin pine tree branches behind my wheels in a line. I drove out backwards with no difficulty.

How does that work when we are stuck in our minds with revolving thoughts? We lay down a path of thankfulness. Giving thanks sets us right into the center of God’s will. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

Psalm 119:165 Amplified says, “Great peace have they who love Your law; nothing shall offend them or make them stumble.” The word offense originally meant a trapstick, a bent sapling, or a moveable stick with bait used to catch animals. An offense is the temptation to sin.

We don’t have to take the bait! We will have countless opportunities to become offended, but if our heart is filled with love for God’s word, the trap is set in vain ~ it will be instantly discerned and rejected.

The moment our peace is missing in any situation, we need to check our heart for an offense. What does an offense look like? Our spirit immediately backs up, but our flesh rises in defense. Fleshly reactions reveal hidden unresolved issues. According to Proverbs 4:23 they just spring up unexpectedly. The intensity of an offense is neutralized the moment we forgive the offense, in the face of the temptation to sin.

When was the last time you were offended? Jesus said that offenses would come. Luke 17:1. Satan set up an offense against Jesus through Peter. Matthew 16:23 says, “…Get behind Me, satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Peter had just rebuked the Lord when He told His disciples that He would be killed and raised the third day. Satan was using Peter to bait Jesus. Jesus did not take the bait. What causes us to take the bait?

Proverbs 1:17 says, “Surely, in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.” In order to catch its prey, the trap’s spring has to be concealed. Any unresolved issues hidden in our heart conceals our discernment. We step right in, take the bait, and get ensnared.

Asaph changed from destructive rut-thoughts to intentionally moving forward. Psalm 77:11-12 says, “I will remember the works of the Lord; surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds.” 

Asaph climbed right up out of his mentally destructive rut-thoughts, using the intentional words of “I will” ~ instant freedom to what was binding his heart in anguish. 

David did the same thing on the day that the Lord delivered him from all his enemies. 2 Samuel 22:1. Verse 4 says, “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.”

David wrote several psalms that stated his intention, even though he was languishing from troubles. Psalm 34 was written after he pretended madness before Abimelech. Verse 1 says, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Let verse one be our intention also.

After I fell into the ravine (1977) my mind was consumed with what I could not do. It was shocking. I remember having a mouthful of asparagus. My jaw muscles just quit working. I couldn’t chew anymore. I had to spit it out onto my plate. I could no longer swallow anything that was caky. It just sat in my throat and wouldn’t go down. (note: I didn’t remember that I fell for 3 1/2 years ~ everything was a puzzle as my ‘couldn’t’ list got longer.

If you listen to yourself as you are speaking you will get a clue of what you really believe in your heart. “I can’t” is rooted in a mental roadblock. It is a rut that our thinking processes fall into. “I can’t” kills any motivation. 

Asaph was spiraling down in his thoughts. Psalm 77:10 says, “And I said, This is my anguish; but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

What is meaningful to you? What gets you up and out of bed every morning? Psalm 63: 1 says, “Oh God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land.”

Psalm 27:8 says, “When You said, Seek My face, my heart said to You, Your face, Lord, I will seek.” Verse 13 says, “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” When we lose heart we lose motivation.

Seeking His Presence in our present ~ longing to long for Him, or desiring to desire Him. David wrote words of intention, “…Your face, Lord, I will seek.” “I can’t” versus “I will” reveals the true state of our heart. “I can’t” is an excuse. “I will” is based on a heartfelt decision to move forward.

Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” Do you hear your thoughts? Negative thoughts come from internal demonic strongholds. The enemy of our soul sends fiery darts to defeat our faith.

If we allow them to penetrate, then inner strongholds will be set up. They are designed to bring us into captivity and keep us there. They are lies that we have accepted and believed were our own thoughts! 

In 1993 I learned that not all my thoughts were of my own origin. If satan can get us to believe a lie, he can control our lives. Our faith is always under attack. We must fortify our minds by filling the reservoir of our heart with Scripture specific to our weak areas. 

Nahum 2:1 says, “He who scatters has come up before your face. Man the fort! Watch the road! Strengthen your flanks! Fortify your power mightily.” 1 Peter 1:13 says to gird up our minds.

Once I renounced the fleshly internal lies, I needed to rebuild with truth. Psalm 119:160 says, “The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.”

Jeremiah 1:10 was the instruction of how to cast off and put on. It says, “See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.”

We renounce (disown) the lies that we have believed, and affirm the truth of God’s word that endures forever. Romans 13:14 says, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”

We foolishly give ground over for satan to build lying strongholds in our thought processes. Though we can quickly renounce them, it takes enduring diligence to rebuild with strongholds of truth that will stand in counterattacks. Bold the last sentence and read it again.

In Romans 7 Paul was comparing the Law pre cross to post cross. Here is my personal application. Verse 6 says, “But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by…” The Amplified says, “…having died to what once restrained and held us captive. So now we serve…(under obedience to the promptings) of the Spirit in newness (of life).”

Many years ago the Holy Spirit pointed out to me that I had written laws in my heart. They governed what I did or didn’t do. They were based on maintaining my independence. Anything that we do independent of the Lord is from our flesh. 

Internal fleshly laws keep us bound. Here were some of mine. Lies that I believed, self-preservation, man’s doctrines, trusting in myself ~ believing I knew what was best for me. They were all based on deception. How did I get free? I renounced them. What I used to embrace, I cast off.