II Cor. 10:3-5 talks
about how although “we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,
for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for
the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty
thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of
Christ.”
Another
verse, II Cor. 11:3 – Paul states, “But I
am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the
simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”
Does this mean he can “read” our mind or
our “thoughts”? Of course not, but some people may think this is true because
they believe those lies. Satan is very
limited in how he can attack us as believers because we are filled with the Holy Spirit and we are new creatures in Christ.
We have to continually remind ourselves that the Spirit of God is always in our midst, and that the
presence of Christ lives within our heart, our soul, our mind and spirit. Unfortunately, even though the Enemy knows he
cannot read our thoughts, he still has the ability to “whisper” all sorts of lies,
temptations, negative, stressful things into our minds. So how do we keep from becoming overwhelmed
or making bad choices?
First, we need to be focused on the truth
of who we are in Christ, of knowing how much He loves and cares for us and to
know that He wants to accomplish positive things in our lives for His
glory. We need to be reading the
scripture regularly because that is one of the main ways He communicates with
us. We can open the Bible and read a
passage, and the Spirit of God can literally speak to our hearts and help us to
see His truth. Remember how Jesus kept
using scripture from the Old Testament to cast Satan away from Him as he was
trying to tempt Jesus who was fasting in the desert? This is basically feeding our souls and
ultimately strengthening and nourishing our minds so that we can be encouraged
in our faith. Then when we hear these
lies from the Enemy, we will be able to recognize and reject them because we
have become more enamored in our love and appreciation for the Lord. We also need to focus our mind on the Holy
Spirit so that we can live a life of peace, as Romans 8:6 says, “To set the mind on flesh is death, but to
set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”
Secondly, we need to be praying more. The communication we have with God through
prayer is a great opportunity for us to strengthen the connection we already
have with Him. That’s one reason I enjoy
listening to worship songs throughout the day that help me to reflect on my
walk with the Lord as I sing and pray to Him.
Now sometimes we may have doubts in our heart and minds as we think, “Oh
the Lord is just not listening to me…or “He’s not going to answer my prayers”,
or “Why should I pray…He’s just too busy to pay any attention to me…” and where
do you think those thoughts come from?
That’s right! Satan. He will continually try to attack our minds
as we continue to try and strengthen our relationship with the Lord. We will be able to sense the Lord’s presence
in our heart, mind and soul especially if we do this on a consistent
basis. It’s also good to pray with
others because even then, we can sense that He is in our midst when we are
praying together. Another thing we need to be careful about is what choices we make in our lives. For example, if we are living a lifestyle that is dishonoring and not pleasing to the Lord, then we will have a difficult time hearing His voice. It is at that point that our ears and minds are severely clouded with so many unhealthy things that hinder us and which inevitably affect how we “hear” the truth that the Lord wants us to know about. But it is never too late to restore that relationship with Him once we decide to stop making bad choices, and if we decide to focus on the truth of God’s word, the stronger we will become in keeping the Enemy from defeating us.
Romans 12:2 states, “and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, so that you
may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and
perfect.” The “renewed mind” of
believers is another way that helps us be strengthened and not fall prey to
these attacks, but we have to remember that this is a lifelong process. We have to constantly keep our thoughts
focused on the truth of God’s word and the way His Spirit helps us because the
Enemy is not going to give up on us.
Even though he knows he is defeated and has lost the war, he also knows
he has not lost some of the battles he brings our way because we sometimes choose to listen to his
lies and we do not believe the truth that God wants us to know. Why does it matter to him if he wins that battle
and not the war? Because if he wins,
then we lose. We will become more overwhelmed,
isolated and self-absorbed to the point that we will not be the person the Lord
wants us to be, and He will not be able to use us to reach out and help others.
Basically, if we think we are a weak and defeated person, then we will begin to feel and act like one.
Thankfully,
those of us who have a true relationship with the Lord and are “new creatures
in Christ”, recognize that we cannot be “possessed” by Satan, (II. Cor. 5:17),
but we can become oppressed and strongly influenced by him, if we choose to
listen to his lies, instead of to the Spirit of God who resides within us. Isaiah 26:3 says, “The steadfast of mind You
will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You.”
In II
Corinthians 4:4, it points out that, “the
god of this world has blinded the minds of
the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory
of Christ, who is the image of God.” Unfortunately, Satan does have access to blinding the minds and filling the
thoughts of those who do not know Christ.
He can even read the thoughts of those who give him access. The
story of Judas is a clear example of someone who allowed Satan to mess with his
mind, and he ended believing the lies that Satan bestowed upon him. John 13:2
states that “During supper, the devil
having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to
betray Him.” and In John 13:27, it states that after Judas ate the piece of
food, “Satan then entered into him...” It is clear that ultimately his choices were
affected by the Enemy because of his failure to respond and truly believe in
Jesus Christ as his Savior.
I’ve heard this story about a Cherokee grandfather
told to his grandson about the battle of two wolves inside us all…how one is
evil, filled with anger, greed, resentment lies and pride. The other is good, and filled with joy,
peace, love, hope, humility and truth.
The grandson thought about it and asked, “Which wolf wins?” to which his
grandfather quietly replied, “the one you feed.” That is true for us too… if we choose to
listen to the lies that Satan sends our way each day, then that is the “wolf”
which will overcome and defeat us. But
if we focus on the truth of what scripture says about us and our relationship
with God, and if we listen to the positive, informative things that the Holy
Spirit wants to share with us, then we will be able to overcome those spiritual
attacks of the Enemy. At times in my
life, I have chosen to believe those lies and not the truth. But I am becoming
more motivated now to continue to feed my soul with the truth of the Lord
through His word and to become more proactive as I continue to hear His voice
while I dismiss the evil thoughts that still try to invade my mind from time to
time. Thank you dear Lord that I get to
listen to you…and that you still speak to my heart. Amen!