We’ve all heard and been told to capture every thought. In fact, the Bible tells us to in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
I’ve studied this verse and used it many times as one of my life’s freedom verses. When we examine this verse in the original Jewish translation, it means “does the thought obey the Messiah? Does it align with the Word of God, and how the Messiah thinks?
We’ve all been told the battlefield rages in our minds, and we’ve even been told that it starts in our minds, but let’s briefly discuss strongholds and how they activate. When we are triggered in our mind and feel offense, bitterness, rejection or fear, it ultimately begins with an emotion. A person, situation or circumstance triggered an emotional reaction within our soul that took hold to make us feel something, and the feeling grew into a thought. Therefore, it is both feelings and thoughts which we need to capture.
We can capture the thought quicker if we don’t allow the feeling to manifest, so therefore, shouldn’t we capture the feeling before it manifests into a thought? We should! However, since feelings have been taught as normal human emotions, we allow our feelings to arise before capturing or dismissing the manifestation of that emotion to an unhealthy and unproductive thought.
I believe if we can capture the feeling first and walk in the fruit of the Spirit, we could and will prevent some of our strongholds from manifesting because we will not allow them to get to the point of fear, rejection, offense and other strongholds that can plague us. But how do we capture a feeling when we have been hurt and, in essence, have a right to feel that way in our human nature and flesh?
I believe it is by knowing the scripture that “we walk in the Spirit and will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16). The flesh feels entitlement and somewhat validated in what we feel, but when we walk in the Spirit and release the gifts of the Spirit and the love of Jesus we will know that we aren’t entitled to revenge, justification or even ill feelings. Our responsibility is to be love, give love and receive love, to love God and love people.
The battle that rages in our mind is one we can tighten up and loose if we capture our feelings and thoughts. Feeling betrayed, offended, controlled or angry is not worth it because it leaves you in bondage, not the other person. It’s not worth struggling and feeling victimized, stressed and defeated.
When attacks come, capture the feeling in your heart before it becomes a stronghold in your mind. You have the power to do it and the Spirit of God living inside you!
Kathy DeGraw is a prophetic deliverance minister. She is the founder of Kathy DeGraw Ministries and K Advancement LLC. Kathy hosts a podcast show called Prophetic Spiritual Warfare. Her new book, Mind Battles, releases January 2023 and can be pre-ordered wherever books are sold. She is the author of several books; Prophetic Spiritual Warfare, Speak Out, Discerning and Destroying the Works of Satan, and Unshackled. Kathy’s training platform is available at training.kathydegrawministries.org. Kathy has e-church based on her podcast which produced her most recent book every Sunday night at 7pm EST the web link can be obtained here. You can connect with Kathy on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kathydegraw/ or visit https://kathydegrawministries.org/.
Abby Trivett 
Phil Hotsenpiller 
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