War of the Mind

Any one of us who have been truly devoted Christians for any length of time knows without a doubt that Satan attacks our mind, and he is very good at it! The Bible says that Satan (the thief) “comes to steal and kill and destroy.” (John 10:10) He usually does not hit hard all at once but starts small like with dissatisfaction in life and with God, a doubt about something you read in scripture, something that someone said to you that hurt you, etc. Then he blows these things way out of proportion and gets you thinking about all kinds of things that are not true. On top of that, he gets you to doubt your own value to God and others.

Because this thief comes not only to steal but also to KILL and DESTROY, he goes to great lengths to hit us at every single area, no matter how small, that is an area of weakness in our lives. Just like a robber (thief), he quietly slithers through a barely cracked open window or easily break through a door that doesn’t quite close all the way. If all else fails, he kicks the door in or smashes a window. He will not stop until he gets in somewhere! He will go to great lengths to get into your mind. If discouragement doesn’t work, he will try doubts. If doubts don’t work, he will try temptations. If these don’t work, then he will even go as low as to get you to minimize your sinful attitudes and actions. “Well, it’s not that bad. Everyone is doing it,” or “At least you are not as bad as him/her…” he says slyly. (Does this tactic sound familiar, Eve?)

Believe me, I could write a book solely on how Satan has discouraged me and filled me with doubts, everywhere from doubting my own value to the truth of a few scriptures that have not seemed to be playing out the way the Bible says it is supposed to (i.e. struggling financially when I faithfully tithe and am a good steward). The great news is that God has given me some very specific promises through the past ten years that I have written down and often refer to! Some have already been fulfilled and some have yet to be fulfilled.

Because I know without a doubt that God spoke these promises to me very specifically, Satan cannot even put a shred of doubt in my mind about them because I stand firm on God’s promises that WILL come to me one day. Because of that, Satan resorts to using other verses I have come across that don’t seem to apply to me because my life has been one very difficult valley after another! However, because I stand on the word of God and refuse to believe some of scripture and not other parts of it, I have to keep fighting back with the promises that God has already given to me.  

God has given us his Word (the sword of the Spirit) to combat the enemy when it comes to our mind. The mind is a very powerful tool and can either overcome great obstacles (with the power of Jesus) or become destroyed (by the thief). My life in particular has just been one of those that has been extremely difficult at every turn and like the saying goes, “I can’t win for losing,” and “If it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no ‘luck’ at all” rings very true in my life (though I don’t tend to believe in luck). Some of us have just been dealt a very difficult deck in life. I cannot explain why, although there have been many times I have asked God why and if there was something I did to deserve all of this, which has been much more than the average person has had to endure.

I wish I could give some of you an answer; in particular, those who are faithful followers of Christ, seek him, love him and have committed yourselves at all costs and still struggle greatly with a very hard life, but I can’t. I think that is a journey we must take with our heavenly father. He is always teaching, molding and using us in ways we cannot see because the changes are subtle. However, I can say that God has always prepared me for the next big challenge by using a previous challenge to learn from and build on. He has never left me out in the cold to “figure it out on my own.” He has given me wisdom and even warns me of (as well as prepares me for) the next big difficulty right before it hits.

God never said one time in the scripture that our lives would be easy. Maybe some people seem to have it easier and better than we do, but again, Satan can use this to breed discouragement, jealousy and even anger if we are not careful. Then before you know it, we are focused so much on their easier life and more on our difficulties that we cannot even see the goodness that God has put in our lives. The second part of John 10:10 states, “…I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” That means something different to different people. I too have to be careful not to compare my life to someone else’s life that seems so much better than mine, because then I cannot see the fullness in my life.  

However, we can combat this if we are vigilant:  

I am very mindful every single day to thank God for all the blessings he has given me and I name them one by one. There are small glimpses of fullness in my journey of difficulty…my kids, our sweet adopted dog, living in a good, safe neighborhood (as a single mom on my tight budget, this is a miracle), the beautiful cool, crisp weather, my closest friends, food in the pantry, the beauty of nature, etc. Find the beauty around you and the basic needs that God has provided for you. Write them down and thank God every day for them, adding to the list as you remember more things.

Rebuke the enemy and his mind games (War of your mind) each and every time in the name of Jesus’ blood! This is a very under-utilized tool, but very powerful! The scripture says that Jesus’ name is so powerful (as is his blood) that even demons flee at his name! There is great, great power in the name of Jesus that no other power can overcome, not even death! If you have not tried this, I encourage you to do so! I have experienced immeasurable peace in the midst of the battle of my mind by doing this and wished I had done so sooner. Luke 10:17 says, “The seventy two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”

The Lord has given us the tools for victory…will you use them to overcome the enemy?