2 Corinthians 10:5, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
Did you ever watch Alice in Wonderland? I have never seen the entire movie but there is one part I am familiar with and have seen parts of it. The white rabbit found Alice under a tree. He quickly gets her to follow him, out of curiosity, down his rabbit hole. As she jumps in after him, she falls and falls until she lands in Wonderland and from there strange things keep happening to her and so on. Although a fabricated story that is meant to entertain, we still could learn a thing or two from it, which we will get to.
Now for something real, when I was younger, we had a popular children’s science toy kids could have in their homes, to help them learn about ants. You may remember them, Ant Farms. They were cool because a child could watch the ants working through the dirt in many tunnels, going all over the little box we were given. Although only a small box for the ants you had, their homes out in the wild are elaborate. Tunnels all through the ground going every which way, usually leading from one ant hill going in, to another going out. The Meerkats are also known for having underground homes and tunnels leading here and there as they make their way around a field, popping up to see the world around them.
So, what do these networks of tunnels made by these animals have to do with a rabbit hole? Well, we too can find ourselves falling down rabbit holes like Alice. Once we start down that hole, we find ourselves in a network of unending tunnels that just take us deeper and deeper into places we probably shouldn’t go. This rabbit hole begins with our thoughts. Sometimes those thoughts lead to action. This can happen out of curiosity or simply letting your mind wander. It might be a relationship problem we bitterly "debate" in our thoughts. It might be an injustice or offense we've obsessively relived in our thoughts, memorizing each detail. It might be an unrealistic fear that haunts us. It might be an ungodly desire we enjoy pondering. Our thoughts can also lead us down a rabbit hole of temptation. Temptation begins when we “conceive” sinful desires: entertain, enjoy, and contemplate those desires in our thoughts. Then we act on the desires we’ve “nourished.”- James 1:13-15.
For example, there was a time in my life, long ago now, that my husband and I had some struggles in our marriage that almost tore us apart. Today, there could be something that crosses my path, and I my thoughts are led back to that time, and if I let my mind stay there, I begin to fall back down the hole of what went wrong, what could we have changed, what really led it to that point. See, we have moved on and healed from that time so many years ago now, but when I start down that rabbit hole I tend to keep falling where I shouldn’t and have no need to. My husband and are happy and love the life we’ve built together, so why fall into the past.
One other example I want to share is a time in our life when we were dealing with one of our teenagers. We had some struggles with them at that time and a family member whom we trusted broke our trust. It turned into a big blow up causing lots of hurt feelings and family ties broken. Again, my family has moved on, our now adult teenager has grown out of those troubled years, but the family ties have never been the same with the family outside of our immediate home, even though we found forgiveness in our heart. There are those times when I am silently sitting at home being idle on my phone or what not, and suddenly my mind wanders back to that rabbit hole. No real reason, I have no explanation of why, but I have to remind myself not to jump in because I will just keep falling back to that time, and the thoughts around it, and it is only hurting myself.
I share these because I know we have all been there in our lives with missed opportunities, things we should have done differently, choices we wish we could change and more. These rabbit holes are places we shouldn’t be revisiting, because we have made our lives and choices, and that has led us all to where we are now. If forgiveness was already given, we need to leave it in the past as God leaves our pasts in the past when He forgives us. I also believe with my whole heart that everything we go through in our journey in life has made us who we are today and hopefully that is a good place to be. When asked if I could change anything in the past I say no because the past brought me here today and I am very thankful for what the Lord has blessed me with, even through the difficult times.
Unfortunately, this is only one rabbit hole we can fall into. Another one can be our thoughts about ourselves. Our thoughts create our mood and affect our actions- Luke 6:45. Did you know that we speak at a rate of 120 words a minute and think at a rate of 1300 words a minute? Sometimes while being idle (I like to call it my brain-dead time, when I just want to play games on my phone or watch some T.V. and not have to really think about things). Our thoughts can lead us down a rabbit hole. Bitter memories or worries or self-pity. This is especially true when going through a difficulty. Thoughts can really overcome us when we spend our time scrolling through Facebook and comparing ourselves to the many pictures and lives of our Facebook “friends”. We may feel we aren’t good enough, wonder what we could have done differently to have the prefect life they do, to have with all that they seem to have. The list can go on and on, leading you down another tunnel that’s leading to nowhere. You may think the worst about a situation or dwell on the negatives. Decide something is hopeless or meaningless and conclude you can’t be happy unless it changes.
It’s no wonder we sometimes get depressed when we dwell on our problems. 1300 words a minute? That’s ten minutes of negative self-talk. That’s 13,000 negative, sad, angry, and discouraging words pumped into our soul. That’s too many minutes to let satan have control of our thoughts and life. This is a rabbit hole we can easily fall into but can also get out of when we let God comfort us- 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is the Father who is full of mercy and all comfort. He comforts us every time we have trouble, so when others have trouble, we can comfort them with the same comfort God gives us.”
“When we inject the truth into our every thought, taking a therapeutic broom and sweeping away the lies and misbeliefs which have enslaved us, we find our lives radically changed for the happier better.”- William Backus and Marie Chapian
Our happiness is not based on outward conditions, but inward peace, so we must quit letting ourselves fall down that rabbit hole! When we begin to think negative thoughts, we must spring into action and not let those rabbit holes take control. Put into action God’s two-step plan found in our verse today.
1. Demolish (destroy) anything that contradicts God's Word. -We don't excuse it or try to make it fit. We reject it.
2. Make our thoughts obedient to Christ. -We replace our negative thoughts with God's truth.
If you know you fight those rabbit holes, set an alarm throughout the day, every hour if you need to. The alarms can remind you to take a few minutes to pray, read scripture, or sing a praise song, taking your thoughts captive. Memorize Bible verses related to your struggles. Interrupt negative thoughts by counting your blessings. Replace negative thoughts by praising God for His love. The more you set your mind on Jesus, the healthier your thoughts.
“If you are feeling that nothing good can come from a situation, remind yourself that Romans 8:28 promises that God can bring good out of every situation if we seek His purposes.
If you're feeling abandoned or alone, remind yourself that Hebrews 13:5 promises that God will never, ever, ever leave you.
If you feel like nothing will restore your peace, remind yourself that Philippians 4:8 instructs you to dwell on good things so you can gain a peace that is beyond your understanding.
If you are feeling like there are no good things to dwell on, remember that Philippians 3:7-9 tells us that no matter what else happens, you can rejoice in your salvation!” -biblelovenotes.com
If you are struggling with any rabbit hole, ask the Lord to help you implement His two-step solution. Don’t let your curiosity, like Alice lead you down paths you know you don’t belong on. It’s easy to say, “Oh I won’t get off track if I just scratch the surface, I can stop when I need to.” But! It’s not that easy, if you jump into that hole, you will find yourself in a network of tunnels and won’t know how to get out and before you know it the queen will be saying ‘off with her head’ (Okay, I also know that much from Alice in Wonderland).
If you’re struggling in some area of your life, it’s likely your thoughts are involved. Don’t let those thoughts lead you to action, ask God to help lead you heavenward and trust He is with you and can help you. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, you can take your negative thoughts captive and make your mind obedient to the truth that Christ has overcome, and you can also be an overcomer- Romans 8:37. Our thoughts can corrupt us or transform us. Let’s choose to be transformed!
One very important way we can stay out of those rabbit holes in to immerse ourselves in God and in His Word. I know when I spend a day or two away from Bible studies or opening God's Word my rabbit holes begin popping up and can be easier to fall into. I may have shared a couple of them but I have other rabbit holes I am drawn too and I know we all do in one or two ways. I also know when I am away from my writing I fall easier than when I spend time each day writing and searching the Bible. Satan knows it too and he knows how to distract me. This is why it is so vital to stay connected with God through prayer and through studying of His truths in scripture. So, today if you have been joining me, we will continue our study in Godly Relationships with lesson 6. If you are just now joining me, you can go to the last several blogs and at the bottom will find all the lessons. Have a great day!
Godly Relationships- Lesson 6.docx
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