“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” (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Every day I awaken into a battle. There is constant struggle between trying & trusting that takes place in my mind. Some say we have close to 60k-80k thoughts per day. Whatever the number is the reality is we have a choice to accept or dismiss any of them. Many of these thoughts are formed through patterns of the world and experiences that shape our perceptions. They are past events that become stored as memories. Our minds are extremely powerful weapons and they can work for us or against us depending on how we condition them.

In the weeks prior to a competition there is a lot of down time and solitude. It’s during these times of waiting where God has my full attention and I become very self-aware and introspective. As believers the devil’s goal is to flood our minds with negative thoughts in hope that we literally think ourselves to death. We spend days training, lifting weights, conditioning, acclimating, dieting, and grinding our bodies into peak conditioning. But what I truly believe has been the heartbeat & catalyst to my rapid growth in the sport of wrestling has not come from my own self-effort but from the love and strength of our Lord.

When I made a decision to give my life to Christ, I was immediately thrown into spiritual training. God quickly become my moral compass and central focus in everything I did. The reason why I say this is because our thoughts can be positive or negative depending on what we have conditioned ourselves to meditate on. In these times of waiting its easy to become anxious and fear is always a constant. When negative thoughts enter my mind there is always a constant dialogue that plays out. In this dialogue I have a choice to tell myself rational lies and bridge the gap between reality and my own expectations or trust and follow my moral compass. My biggest and most effective weapon has been arming myself with the Word of God and shooting down every negative thought with his convictions.

As believers we must diligently train and condition our minds with the truths and convictions of God and shatter every thought that is not from Him. We are made in His image and we have the power to do what He says we can do. For me it’s crucial to stay extremely close to the Lord and his truth’s to fend off the attacks. Through the power of the holy spirit and Christ Jesus who dwells in us we are completely sufficient to defeat the devil every time he attacks our thoughts. Condition your minds, sharpen your swords, and meditate on the Word of the Lord daily.

Love you Guys,

Frank