Casting Down Imaginations that Exalt itself Above the Knowledge of God – II Corinthians 10:5

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down 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.

II Corinthians 10:4-5

The above scripture is quoted quite often within the body of Christ but I don’t think the second part of the long sentence is as quoted as the first part -“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.”. The truth is the weapons of our warfare do not only pull down strongholds but also cast down imaginations; imaginations that go contrary to the imaginations and thoughts of God for us. The fact that Apostle Paul tells us that some imaginations need to be cast down points us to the fact that Imagination is powerful! The writer of the book of Proverbs knew what He was saying when he concluded that as a man thinks in his mind, so is he – Proverbs 23:7.

The mind of every human is the most powerful resource that we may possess because everything that we do takes form in our minds first. The things that come into fruition or come into play in our lives usually begin from our thoughts or contemplations within our minds. Genesis 11:1-9 illustrates the power of the minds of a group of people who came together to build the tallest building in the world. Their goal was to create a tower so high up, they could reach heaven! In their minds, this building was completed, all they needed to do was build together to see and touch the tower of Babel. If God didn’t stop these people, they sure would have gone ahead to bring their imaginations into reality. Daniel a great man of God who openly declared and showed his love for God first purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the king’s meat -Daniel 1:8-12. His loyalty to the Lord first began from his mind. In all of his imagination, he didn’t see a time or place where or when he dishonored God with anything. Hence, the course of his life was charted in the way that he had purposed in his mind.

The woman with the issues of blood first purposed in her mind,” Only if I could touch the hem of His garment, I shall be made whole – Matthew 9:21. Indeed as she imagined, so did it come to pass for her. The centurion was another man who imagined that his servant would be made whole only if Jesus Christ said a word and so it was as he took action – Matthew 8:6-8. The list of great things accomplished by the power of the mind could go on and on forever. However, there is also a long list of the downfall of men by the power of the mind. Prophet Elijah was a man of like passion like you and I who prayed passionately for the rain to cease in the land and rain ceased for about three years. This same great man of God determined in his mind to call down the fire of God and he called down the fire of God which consumed the strange prophets of Baal and the Baal gods – I Kings. 18:19-21. Given the mighty things Elijah wrought by the power of the Lord, it was interesting to see that Elijah became fearful. He became fearful right after Queen Jezebel projected fear into his life by her words, “Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also if I do not make your life as the life of one of them(the prophets that were killed) by this time tomorrow.”  Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.” – I Kings 19:2-3. I guess this only emphasizes that Elijah was a man of passion like you and I for him to become fearful after the threat of Jezebel. After all, He had emotions and blood running through his veins just like you and I.

I think it is salient to note that this fear that Elijah experienced was all in his mind, sadly projected into his mind by Queen Jezebel. The strength of our thoughts and imaginations lies in the time and energy we give to these thoughts. Elijah took this projection and ran with it for a whole day. A whole day is way too much time to entertain or give room for any thoughts that aren’t of God. Elijah ran a whole day with this evil thought up to the extent he wanted his life to end – I Kings 19:4. But for the divine intervention of our Lord, God knows how Elijah would have ended in the wilderness of depression. In the same way, the queen projected fear into Elijah’s life, so does the devil leverage different means and tools to project lies into the lives of humans all over the world. Sadly, humans take these lies and run so far with them. This should not be so with you and me who have been saved to the uttermost, adopted into the precious family of our Lord Jesus Christ whose thoughts, and imaginations for us are only of good, bringing us to an expected end – Jeremiah 29:11. Therefore, we should take into cognizance the weapon of our warfare against imaginations that do not align with the thoughts or the knowledge of God. This weapon is the word of God as cited in Ephesians 4:17. The word of God fills our minds with the knowledge of God so that we can identify the lies of the devil per time and cast them beneath us where they belong.

When the devil whispers :

• death to you, say to him “With Long Life will God satisfy you and show you His salvation” – Psalms 91:16
• fear to you, say to him “God has not given me the spirit of fear but of power, love, and sound mind” – II Timothy 1:7 or “I Fear not, for God is with me; I will not be dismayed, for I am your God; He will strengthen me help m and uphold me with His righteous right hand” – Isaiah 41:10
• poverty or shortage to you, say to him “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” – Philippians 4:19″
• Helplessness to you, say to him, “God is my refuge and strength, my ever-present help in trouble” – Psalms 46:5″

To every imagination or thought that does not exalt the name of the Lord, there is God’s word to cast it down.

Finally, to my dear friend whose thoughts and imaginations about yourself may be fearful, sad, or discouraging and hasn’t exactly come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. I would love to let you know that Jesus’ thoughts are good. He is knocking at the door of your heart, waiting for you to let Him in to flood your heart, thoughts, and imagination with His goodness. Let Jesus in my dear friend 🙂

All over scripture, God’s word love, and truth about our lives are splashed all over the prints of the Holy Bible. Therefore, it is up to us as Christians, to find God’s truth about our lives, and harm ourselves with them so that when the devil strikes with his fiery lies, we can cast them down! Every lie of the