Darlene Rose

2 Co 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage battle according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

Continuing along the lines of “Taking every thought captive” which has been the word to me; the word within a word to “write daily” and every writing begins with the thoughts I wake up with that are floating around in my mind. Writing is an expression not into thin air but taking these thoughts and seeking Him to redeem them, use them, not merely discard them, unless discarding them is all that can be done with them. I don’t believe it is written anywhere that we are to get rid of thoughts once we have accepted them at some point. The directive is to ‘take them captive’ which implies that that they must serve us as we serve Christ unless there is no longer any need for them.

Writing daily does not mean that every thing here is written for others because it isn’t written TO others…. this is written because writing is the exhale of my heart, not just the lovely desires but even the troubles, doubts and fears.

Why did I feel I needed certain thoughts at one time? Do I still need them? Why or why not? When my mother passed away, I took most of her things; all her makeup and jewelry and pictures. I held onto them even though I didn’t have use for them practically but because I felt like I was honoring my mother to hold onto, at least for awhile the things she cherished or used, to understand why she loved them. I held onto them until I didn’t “need” to hold onto my mother’s things any longer. Then I was free to release them, one little thing at a time. I did not get rid of them by hiring someone with a forklift to dispose of them. I released them to another owner OR I released them into the trash if there was no longer any purpose for them (ex: old, worn lipstick is for the trash).

Exhaling is not a venting because scripture says that venting is for fools.
Exhaling is releasing what is within, knowing there is an INHALE of the next breath of Holy Spirit. When you exhale, you release slowly and steadily.

Proverbs 29:11 Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.

Venting does not look forward to the next inhale of what is right and pure. Venting is a forceful expressing of what has been pent up for too long. Expressing is a means of communication. Venting is releasing pressure with no intention of seeking to keep from having to vent again.

Taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ means to take every thought that has become a vow within our being that we made ourselves slave to, thoughts like “I am an empath because I feel everybody’s pain and joy.” That thought is an agreement made. “I am an empath” is an agreement made because it seems to describe many traits one might notice about themselves, however just because it describes something noticed, does not mean that it is in the DNA nor was it in the mind of our Creator when we were created. Once this is agreed to, then we become a slave to it, noticing now and agreeing with everyone’s feelings, even now beginning to think we can read a person’s mind because we are empaths. Then we wonder why we are not free to be in crowds; the word crowd becomes eventually redefined as more than 2 people. We become slaves to it and find we cannot assemble with others because of their energy. This becomes completely opposite of who we are created to be.

We are called to be THERMOSTATS – temperature regulators – not THERMOMETERS- reporters of temperature. As an empath, if one agrees with that, they are reporting the “energy” because they feel it but it then becomes built up in us where we will have melt-downs, despise people, and then have to vent. Contrary to being compassionate – taking a small bit of someone else’s pain and releasing it gently to the Lord for healing, the word “compassionate” is an adjective and empath is noun.

So we take every thought captive, so that we are not slaves to it, but these thoughts become our slave, serving us as we serve Jesus.

My thought this morning is “my poor feet.” Painful, swollen feet. Why am I a slave to these feet? What thought have I had that become a fortress in my body?

Edema is fluid build up. Poor circulation maybe? Poor mineral retention maybe? Sign of heart trouble maybe? Kidney trouble maybe? The thought is not the edema. The thought is “my feet hurt” Tomorrow I sit with a health professional to discuss what might be going on but I want to address the thought itself.

Blessed are the feet who bring good news
Of those on the mountains who did not have shoes
Their feet scarred and blistered, swollen and pained
As they trudged through the briars and thorns, blood-stained
Knowing their days and their steps are ordained
By the Lord.

My feet are blessed, not cursed as once thought
All activity against them shall be brought to nought
My feet are the feet of roe, doe and hind
Leaping through hills to go where assigned
These feet are free and will not be confined
Says the Lord.