The Astronomical Value of Restraint
For as he thinks within himself, so he is. Proverbs 23:7 (New American Standard Bible, NASB)
According to Brother Kenneth Copeland, “Unrestrained thoughts produce unrestrained actions.” What does he mean by this? To understand it, let’s first understand what the word unrestrained means.
The root of restrained is restrain, which, according to Merriam Webster, means to prevent from doing, exhibiting, or expressing something or to limit, restrict, or keep under control. So, when something is restrained, it is prevented from doing something; it is limited, restricted or kept under control. When UN is placed in fromt of the word, it negates it or makes it the opposite. Therefore, unrestrained thoughts are those not limited, restricted or kept under control. Basically, unrestrained thoughts are thoughts that are allowed to run wild and unchecked.
Our thoughts directly affect our actions. So, when we fail to keep a guard over our thoughts, our actions are spontaneous and impulsive. This is a dangerous way to live.
Thoughts are coming to us from multiple sources. God is speaking to us, the devil is speaking to us, and some thoughts are produced by us based on what we give attention to (what we read, watch, etc.). It is so important that we stay vigilant to evaluate each thought and discern where it is coming from. It is also important to be selective in what we allow to enter our minds through our eye gates, ear gates, etc. by way of movies, TV, the internet, books, our phones, and our music. If they are influenced by God, then they are fine, but to allow messaging that is influenced by the enemy to enter in is definitely no good.
What happens when a thought is introduced to our minds? The person who is not guarding his thought life will act immediately upon every thought he receives. This usually produces words that produce a bad outcome in his life. And his other actions will be without wisdom and will produce bad fruit as well. If he is receiving both good and bad thoughts and acting on both, he will be double-minded, unable to settle on how he wants to believe, and he will receive nothing from the Lord. Such is the life of the person with unrestrained thoughts.
Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. James 1:8 (New International Version, NIV)
On the other hand, a person who is mantaining a close watch over his thoughts will not accept every thought that comes his way. He will compare each and every thought to the Word of God and if it doesn’t line up, it is cast down and his actions will be wise and made with prudence. The harvests in his life will be pleasant ones, and difficulties will be reduced.
How do we cast down thoughts? Casting down a thought means to reject it and destroy its influence in our life.
We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ, II Corinthians 10:5 (Amplified Bible, AMP)
Therefore, take no thought, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ Matthew 6:31 (Modern English Version, MEV) emphasis mine
When a wrong thought comes our way and we identify it as something we do not want to think, we must capture it like a soldier captures the enemy and renders him ineffective. Matthew 6:31 identifies how we accept thoughts- we accept them with our spoken words. And that is also how we reject them- with our words. When a wrong thought comes along, speak against it out loud. You can say something like, “No I do not receive that thought, in Jesus’ name.” Or any other phrase you want to use to take authority over it verbally and reject it. Speaking Bible verses that refute the thought is also a good idea.
When we restrain our thoughts, our actions are restrained, and we live a much better life. Don’t let unrestrained thoughts and the unrestrained actions they produce wreak havoc in your life.
