Tough

 The word tough is defined as strong enough to endure adverse conditions. Tough is an admirable quality and advertisers seize on this. You may remember some of these toys listed as tough from your childhood. Tonka trucks. These trucks are made of steel and built for rough handling since 1946. LEGOS also fall in this category. Also included in this list, are Matchbox cars. They are made of die cast metal and have a reputation for durability. 

There are also tough people. I was surprised to learn of a couple of the toughest guys who ever lived. They proved it April 6, 1893 in New Orleans, LA. They started a boxing match. Rounds for a boxing match are three minutes. When I was kid fights were 15 rounds at the professional level. Now they are a maximum of 12 rounds for safety reasons. Andy Bowen and Jack Burke fought well past 15 rounds. They pummeled each other past twenty rounds. Even fifty rounds. The fight lasted for 7 hours and 19 min. They were in the 110th round! The referee stopped the fight declaring a draw because all parties were exhausted. That is tough. 

Not tough like Jesus. Jesus hung on the cross about six hours. Before that He endured a severe beating from Roman soldiers. The physical suffering alone was tough. He volunteered to do this. He  made the tough decision to go to the cross. Not only that, He took the sin of the world upon Himself taking our punishment so He could offer us forgiveness and the righteousness of God in return. That is tough. 

There is a football team outside of Ft. Worth, TX in the little community of Paradise. The Paradise Panthers, where all of four sons played, have a unique motto this year. "Jesus Tough." My oldest son, who still lives in the area, heard a radio interview from some of the players and cheerleaders. One of them said, "We want to be tough like Jesus because He made the tough decision to go to the cross." WOW! 

Are we tough enough to make the hard decisions? To do the right thing when doing the wrong thing would be more convenient. To make the tough decision to raise our kids right when others give into letting them do wrong. To work hard on the job when our body and mind are exhausted. To make the tough decisions to show up for worship when you are pressured by others to skip. Life is filled with tough decisions. 

When life gets tough I hope we will remember that Jesus made the tough decision to endure the cross and to do so with joy according to Hebrews 12:2. He can help us get through tough stuff and make tough decisions too. 

Taking Toxic Thoughts Captive

 Mental health is a real thing no matter what skeptics think. As of April of 2026, 59 million people were diagnosed with mental health issues. This covers a wide range of degrees of mental health issues. There are days when many feel blue, melancholy, or depressed. They may not even be able to identify the reasons. It can come on suddenly like a thunderstorm. In those seasons, hope fades, things look gloomier, and people tend to isolate themselves from others. 

Medical experts call these thoughts toxic thoughts. Those thoughts release chemical reactions in the body that are harmful. Studies have shown that thoughts are like branches on trees. When toxic thoughts release their chemicals the branches become thick and blotted. For further research on this you can look up Dr. Stryden from South Africa. 

God gives us a path to mental health in II Cor 10:3-5. Let me say up front that a part of mental health is fighting evil spiritual forces that plant toxic thoughts in our mind. Thoughts like shame, condemnation, poor self-esteem, anxiety, that God has forsaken you, that God does not love you, and that God will never forgive you to just name a few. 

Verse three reminds us that even though we live in the flesh in earthly bodies, we are in a war that is not earthly. We cannot fight this spiritual battles with flesh like our intellect, reason, and education. This war is spiritual and must be fought in a spiritual way.  The next verse states that the weapons we must use are not of the flesh. That is why self-help talks are powerless in this spiritual war. 

I was riding my Peloton in a spin class recently when the lady leading the class offered some of this self-talk. She told us to remember, "I have. I can. I will." Those words are powerless against hoards of demonic spirits released to wreak havoc on the minds of millions of people. We need something more. 

There is good news. We do have weapons that are divinely power for the DESTRUCTION OF FORTRESSES. What are these weapons? Prayer. The Bible. We fight back when we pray, even in those times when don't feel like praying. Who do you think doesn't want us to pray? Satan and demons. That is why we must pray all the more. We must do more than casually read the Bible. We need to use the Bible in our prayers. I love to pray scripture. To stand on it and believe it. That is when God destroys spiritual fortresses our enemy builds. 

Verse five tells us we are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God. Satan is identified as a liar. He is called the father of lies. Anything he plants in our minds through his minions is a lie. It is a lie that God does not love you. He settled that forever sending Jesus to the cross to die for your sins. The cross is the receipt as proof that He loves you. Rom 5:8 It is another lie to believe there is no hope. With God there is always hope. Heb 11:1 Another lie is that God can't forgive you for the bad you have done. Read Ps 103:12, Rom 8:1, and I John 1:9

The last part of that verse instructs us to take every thought captive in obedience to Christ. Have you ever experienced your thoughts running wild out of control? Imagine your thoughts being like horses. Something stampedes the horses and you have to chase them down, turn them around and lead them back to the corral. You have to do the same thing with your thoughts. Evil spirits will plant toxic thoughts in your mind. You can let them run wild out of control. You can take them captive the moment you think them and submit them to obedience in Christ. With His help we can take those wild thoughts captive and corral them. 

We may not be able to control every thought that enters our mind. Through prayer and with the sword of scripture we can fight back. In doing so, I am sure it will improve mental health. That is something we can all benefit from as we take toxic thoughts captive.