2 Corinthians 10:5 instructs us that it’s necessary to catch our thoughts and bring them under the obedience of a Christ. For example, I recently failed to deal with conflict, which caused stress for me and others. Satan has daily reminded me of my failure. This redundant negativity has hindered my walk with my Lord. I’ve caught those thoughts and thrown them in the dumpster to gain spiritual victory. But Satan tends to tempt me to dumpster dive. Why do I sometimes jump into filth to retrieve what I’ve previously thrown away? Oh, the mess of our fleshly minds.
The Apostle Paul seems to have dealt with the same issue. He served the Lord at the onset of the grace age as he moved away from law living. Trained by Gamaliel, a recognized doctor of Jewish Law, Paul refers to himself as a Hebrew of Hebrews (Philippians 3:5). Acts 22 records Paul’s confession of persecuting the church unto death. He had bound and delivered many Christians to prison with great zeal. The account of his testimony on the way to Damascus displays the life-changing light of Jesus Christ, illuminating to blind him but later changing his heart and loyalty. No longer loyal to the law but to Jesus Christ, Paul’s former Jewish colleagues became enemies.
Persecution from enemies, beatings, imprisonments, shipwrecks, and the regret of his former treatment of believers must have caused quite the warfare in Paul’s mind. His new inward man delighted in God’s truth, but his flesh warred against his mind.
My fleshly mind struggles to fight the lies of the enemy. But, thank God, my inward woman houses the Holy Spirit, and I have God’s word to read, memorize, and apply. Paul fought a good fight, finished his course, and kept his faith, and I hope to do the same (2 Timothy 4:7). I’m learning this takes grabbing my thoughts and replacing them with God’s truth, which proves a daily battle! Ladies, let’s fight the good fight of faith and resist dumpster diving!
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind,….Romans 7:22 and 23a
I love the analogy here. It fits perfectly with a thought pattern I struggle with. “Leave it in the dumpster!” I’m going to tell myself when it comes up again.
Candyace, I’m glad this analogy stuck in your mind as it has mine. Jesus often used extreme analogies, so I suppose our human minds need this literay device.
I’ve never considered calling it “dumpster diving” when I pick up an old grudge or a problem that I’ve given over to God. Each time we reclaim that burden we sink further into despair. Thank you for this reminder to grab our thoughts and replace them with God’s truth.
Isuppose the comparison to dumpster diving helps us see the gross garbage that dirties our minds when Satan plagues us with his lies. Jesus often used extreme examples to nail his teachings. Our mind is the battlefield where we despair in defeat or rise to victory. Katherine,thanks for your comment.