Win the Mind Battles

I believe the toughest enemy to fight is the one we don’t know about. I was a Christian for years before I realized I had an enemy, Satan, who will do everything in his power to prevent us from walking in God’s good plan for our lives.

One of the primary ways he does this is through deception, trying to bring all kinds of negative thoughts to our mind. You see, John 8:44 teaches us that Satan is a liar. He attempts over and over to get us to believe things that aren’t true. That’s why it is critical for us to learn how to renew our minds with the weapon of God’s Word (Romans 12:2). We are in a spiritual battle, and we must fight with spiritual weapons. God has given us His Word as our main line of defense against the lies of the enemy.

The weapons we fight with … have divine power to demolish strongholds … arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NIV).

What is a stronghold? A stronghold is an area where the enemy entrenches himself and takes control. You have probably heard this term used when referring to soldiers fighting battles. Well, the Bible talks about strongholds in our mind. These are areas of our thinking dominated by the enemy – areas where we are deceived.

How does he do it? He comes against us by bombarding our minds with cleverly devised patterns of nagging thoughts that lead to suspicion, doubt, fear, reasoning, and theories that refute the truth of God’s Word. When these thoughts get rooted in our minds, then they become strongholds that give the enemy control.

For years, I believed so many things that weren’t true, and they created a mess in my life. For instance, I remember thinking things like:

“Nobody cares about me or loves me.”

“Nothing good is going to happen in my life, so I might as well not expect anything good.”

“I’m always going to have a second-class life because I was abused by my father, and I’m damaged goods.”

I didn’t know I had a choice to reject wrong thinking! The good news is that the Word of God is the most powerful thing on the earth, and as we read, study, learn, and live God’s Word, then it will literally transform us from the inside out and help us to destroy these strongholds in our thinking.

Do you think about what you’re thinking about? This may sound funny; however, learning to regularly take inventory of our thoughts is essential to having a good life. It was a glorious revelation for me when I realized I don’t have to think about just anything that comes into my mind. I can choose my thoughts and do my own thinking – on purpose.

If your mood begins to sink or you have a bad attitude, take an inventory of your current thoughts, and you will very likely find the culprit. The truth is you can do something about your problems by taking charge of what you’re thinking about.

The enemy will try to get to your thoughts early in the day. Some mornings I wake up and, before I ever get out of bed, I begin having all sorts of negative thoughts about people and situations.

I have to talk to myself and say, “Joyce, you’re not going there!” Then I make a decision to think and say the right things … things that line up with the Word of God. The more we know His Word and get it deep down on the inside of us, the more we will enjoy freedom in every area of our lives.

Adapted from Battle Strategies for a Victorious Life by Joyce Meyer.