"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."
- Matthew 4:1-11
Put It Into Practice
After 21 days of rewriting thought, you have wiped out the toxic thought and replaced it with positive, productive thought. Here’s how we change our lives. — Dr. Caroline Leaf
Matthew 4:1-11 tells about the devil tempting Jesus when He was in the wilderness for 40 days. During that time, Jesus went without food. The devil knew He was weak, and he tempted Jesus to turn from God. With each attack from the devil, Jesus responded with the Word of God. Even though He went without physical sustenance for 40 days, He survived and thrived spiritually. Because Jesus spent time with His Father, He knew the truth. He was prepared for this temptation.
We can’t live in freedom if we constantly allow our toxic thoughts to monopolize our thinking. The best way to battle them is by applying Scripture, because that will strengthen us in our own battle. We must gear up ahead of time and not try to do this once we’re in the battle. Soldiers don’t look for their weapons when the bullets are flying. They are prepared—ahead of time and at all times.
So, let’s prepare ourselves by putting our minds to the test and choosing to capture toxic thoughts instead of entertaining them. And once we do that, we end that lie that has held us hostage by declaring God’s truth. This is how we live free of toxic thoughts.
But it is also true that if we will fix our thoughts on Jesus and live our lives to honor Him, the need for having to test and capture our thoughts will decrease. The author of The Message paraphrase encourages us at the end of Philippians 4:8 to fill our minds with “the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.”
We must continually be filling our minds with things that bring life. We must look for the good. For when we do, we’ll find it.
Reflect
On Day 3, you listed a recurring, toxic thought that you needed to take captive and hopefully, you found a verse to combat that thought. Continue to do this for 21 days. Note the victory you’ve found after this. Make this practice a part of your day everyday until this toxic thought no longer overpowers you.
Now, list a second toxic thought you have and find a verse to combat that lie. Follow the same plan as you did for the first lie. Continue this practice over every toxic thought that attempts to rule over you.
Scripture Readings:
Matthew 4:1-11
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