Dealing With Dark Thoughts Part 1

I. Our thoughts are to be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. 2CO 10:5. A. The government of our thoughts is what determines our actions and character, good or bad. PRO 23:6-7; ROM 12:3. B. The thought of foolishness is sin. PRO 24:9; MAT 5:28. C. It behooves us to guard against allowing temptation to take root in our thoughts. JAM 1:14-15. D. Mind that evil thoughts proceed from the heart, not the brain. There is a moral dimension to thought beyond the cognitive, analytical aspect. MAT 15:19 c/w HEB 4:12. E. Blanking out God leads to vain imaginations and further darkening of the heart unto uncleanness and a reprobate mind under Satanic control. ROM 1:21-28. 1. Scripture warns about sinning away the voice of conscience. EPH 4:17-19. 2. Scripture warns of a seared conscience under the power of a seducing spirit which forbids one from enjoyment of lawful things. 1TI 4:1-4. 3. Learning of Christ and implementing the same delivers one from such unprofitable thoughts. MAT 11:28-30; EPH 4:20-24. F. Have you ever asked yourself after a failure against better knowledge, “What was I thinking of?” Letting thoughts run amok is a real problem.

II. Circumstances even when striving to please God can sometimes be overwhelming. A. Paul at times suffered from lack of rest in spirit and flesh. 2CO 2:13; 7:5. 1. Paul was at times pressed out of measure to desperation. 2CO 1:8. 2. His stabilization came from faith that his God was greater than conditions. 2CO 1:9-10 c/w 1JO 4:4.

B. David had done well and was hated for it. PSA 38:19-20. 1. Though faithfully serving Saul, he feared for his life. 1SAM 20:3. 2. The pressure seems to have made him distrust Samuel who had promised him the kingdom. PSA 116:11 c/w 1SAM 27:1. 3. His stabilization was through prayer and deliverance out of trouble, not from trouble. PSA 116:1-10 c/w PSA 34:19; 2TI 3:11. 4. He realized that God really does care for His own. PSA 116:12-15 c/w 1PE 5:7.

C. Oppression can undo our rational capacity to process life in a godly manner. ECC 7:7 c/w PSA 73:1-3, 13-14. 1. Under intense pressure, even our Lord Jesus was struggling to keep His thoughts. MAR 14:33; LUK 22:44. a. amazement: orig. Loss of one's wits or of self-possession through any cause whatever. 1. The condition of being mentally paralyzed, mental stupefaction, frenzy. Obs. b. agony: Anguish of mind, sore trouble or distress, a paroxysm of grief. 2. He had to embrace a reality that we never have to deal with: the Father’s abandonment. MAR 15:34 c/w HEB 13:5. 3. If the one pure mind of perfect faith could be thus troubled, we of impure minds and doubts shall not be insulated against such. 4. Christ’s salvation was His strong resolve and faith, a lesson for us. HEB 12:2-4.

D. We are not Christ. We are broken people burdened with weaknesses, made of various character qualities (inherited and conditioned) and all expected to do the best we can according to the grace given us in the warfare of life, laying claim to God’s promises. 1CO 10:13; PHIL 4:13. 1. We are enabled by a new birth/spirit/man, have the mind of Christ to guide us (1CO 2:16; PHIL 2:5) and the secure hope of a better future to keep us in the fight. 1PE 1:3-7. 2. Our God not only rules us but relates to us as children, being touched with the feeling of our infirmities. HEB 4:15; PSA 103:13-14. 3. He takes into consideration that not all are rams; some are lambs that occasionally need to be carried. MAT 11:12 c/w LUK 15:4-7; ISA 40:11. 4. He recognizes the diverse make-up of men’s tempers while not excusing their unwillingness to try. DEU 20:8 c/w MAT 25:24-29; ROM 14:1; 15:1. 5. Our God is for us, and proved it ultimately by giving His Son for us. ROM 8:31-32. 6. No matter our circumstance or inadequacy, He is with us to help us. ISA 41:9-13; ACT 18:9-10. 7. Let us not think that being sometimes cast down means we are destroyed, and so abandon faith and hope. 2CO 4:9; 7:6 c/w PSA 43.