Most
spiritual warfare occurs in our mind. Satan loves to plant his lies in our soul
through our thoughts. He whispers a lie that sounds plausible, we consider it,
and either cast it away or receive it as truth. He belittles us, redirects us
from God's plans, and feeds our fears.
Due
to Adam’s sin, Satan is now the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2).
Tempting us to dwell on the worse-case scenarios of any situation is one of the
devil's chief tools. These negative thoughts discourage us, depress us and
defeat us.
Blasphemous,
sexually deviant, unholy, angry, bitter, resentful, belittling, and other
negative thoughts are straight from the pit of hell. A searching inventory of
our thoughts allows us to take the negative ones captive, so the devil does not
make us a captive of his plans for us (Philippians 2:5, 4:8).
When
we entertain and then believe these lies, Satan knows that he has us right
where he wants us. Another issue is the carnal sin nature in our soul that is
being sanctified by God's Holy Spirit. As we cooperate with the Spirit, holiness
happens much quicker (Romans 6-7; 1 Corinthians 3:3; Colossians 3:1; Galatians
5:15-25).
When
we believe Satan's lies, we exhibit negative attitudes. We get "stinkin'
thinkin'." Satan knows that if he captures our mind, then he can control
our emotions and actions also. Our only hope of success in life is to bring our
thoughts into obedience to Jesus.
When
we do this, we put on the mind of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). We win every
spiritual battle when we listen to God's Spirit, as well as when we consult the
Bible for God's truth about every negative thought that we are tempted to
entertain.
Prayer:
Father
God, thank You for the purifying fire of Your Spirit in our soul, cleansing us
from all ungodliness and giving us the mind of Christ. He guides us into Your
truth as He teaches us to discern the difference between the devil's lies and
Your plans for our life (John 14:26-27, 16:13). He allows Your peace, which
transcends all human understanding, to guard our heart and mind through Christ
Jesus (Philippians 4:7).
We
can reject Satan's condemning, shaming thoughts in our mind too, because in You
there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1-2). There is a big difference between his
shaming condemnation and Your conviction of our sin. You give us instruction in
righteousness through Your Word (2 Timothy 3:16). Teach us to care for our
needs when we can, and to leave the rest in Your capable hands (2 Corinthians
13:5-6; Colossians 2:13-15; Lamentations 3:40-42; Ezekiel 36:2-27).
Thought
for the Day:
As
we mature spiritually, we no longer conform to the lies or the temptations of
the flesh, the devil or the world, we refocus our thoughts to dwell on whatever
is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, excellent, admirable and praiseworthy;
-
Romans 12:2; Philippians 4:8
