100 Days of Right Believing: Daily Readings from The Power of Right Believing (20 page)

B
eloved, there may be a devil out there who tries to drag you down in defeat, but the Bible tells us clearly that we have One greater than he inside of us. It is important that you be established in this truth. You don’t have to be afraid of the devil, because Jesus, who is in you, is greater than the devil in this world. No matter what the enemy’s evil tactics are, he will not prevail against you in this battle. The devil is a defeated foe. Greater is He who is in you than all the negative thoughts the enemy can throw at you. Greater is He who is in you than the feelings of guilt and inadequacy. Greater is He who is in you than every accusation that is leveled against you.

Stand strong on this declaration: “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn” (Isa. 54:17). Wow! No weapon formed against you shall prosper. The Bible doesn’t say that you will not experience any challenges or be faced with any attacks. But it does promise that you can be confident in the certainty that they shall not prosper against you.

Do you know why you can stand firm on this promise today? In the very same verse, God goes on to declare that “This is the heritage of the servants of the L
ORD
, and their righteousness is from Me” (Isa. 54:17). This protection is your heritage. God does not protect you because of your right doing; He protects you because your righteousness is from the Lord Himself!

Notice that the weapon that is against you could have
already been formed
, which means that it may already have been conceived, prepared, and aimed at you. Don’t be afraid. Whatever this weapon or challenge may be, know beyond any doubt that it shall not prevail against you. This is God’s promise to you today—
no weapon formed against you shall prosper
. Not because your behavior is perfect, but because your standing in Christ is perfect. Your victory is firmly secured through Jesus’ finished work, which is your heritage in Christ.

A
s you meditate on Bible promises that proclaim God’s truth over your life, you are already beginning to win the battle for your mind. It’s not a coincidence that Jesus was crucified on Golgotha, which actually means “Place of a Skull” (Matt. 27:33). Your breakthrough has to begin in your mind first.

This battle for your mind is not waged externally. Our weapons in this battle are not physical or tangible. Our weapons are the weapons of right believing, and they are mighty in God for pulling down strongholds that have kept us bound. These are strongholds that can only be utterly torn down by rightly believing in the truth of God’s Word.

The devil can only sow wrong thoughts in your mind, but he cannot control what you believe! When you start to believe right, every lie and wrong thought will melt away like butter on a hot, sunny day. Lies can imprison and defeat you only to the degree that you don’t allow God’s truth to come into your situation to liberate you. Listen closely to what Jesus said: “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31–32). What this means is that whatever stronghold you are trapped in today, truth from Jesus will set you free!

Strongholds are wrong thoughts and lies that have been perpetuated in your mind over weeks, months, or even years. These entrenched wrong beliefs cause you to live in bondage to addictions and in a state of fear, guilt, anxiety, or chronic depression.

God’s Word tells us in no uncertain terms that the warfare takes place in our minds and is won by us “pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God” (2 Cor. 10:4–5). The place where the enemy launches his attacks against you
is in your thoughts and imagination. I believe that once you are aware that there is a war for your mind, and that it is between wrong beliefs and right beliefs, you have already won half the battle! Keep hearing, keep believing, and keep renewing your mind with the truth of God’s grace and love for you. And whatever stronghold you may be trapped in today, the truth from His Word will set you free!

S
everal years ago, I preached a message on how the devil sometimes uses the first-person pronoun to plant thoughts in our heads to deceive us. For example, he doesn’t say, “You have an eating disorder” or “You have an addiction.” The devil uses the first-person pronoun to sow thoughts such as these in your mind: “
I
have an eating disorder” or “
I
am addicted to pornography.” He makes you think that you are thinking those thoughts of defeat. He wants you to believe that is who you are.

Upon hearing this message, a man named Walter, whom the devil had used this strategy on and trapped in a destructive addiction for many years, went home after church, locked himself in his room, and for the first time declared out loud, “I am not an addict!” He chose to reject this evil mind-set in the name of Jesus. He related this: “At that very moment, I felt something powerful happen inside me. I don’t know how to describe this. It was as if life became spectacular because of the love of God, and I couldn’t contain the feeling.”

After making that confession out loud, Walter said, “My addiction stopped. I just lost all interest, and I don’t feel even a little bit tempted. All the wrong desires are gone, and best of all, I know I love Jesus more than ever before and I can’t live without Him. I am renewed. I am reborn. I know that everything is in His control, and I am blessed and forgiven.”

Wow! What an amazing testimony of God’s power and goodness in this brother’s life. With just one declaration, he broke the mental stronghold that the devil had placed him under for many years. That is truly the power of right believing. If you can change what you believe, you can change your life, just like this brother did.

Are there lies about your identity that you believe in today? Break the power of those lies by declaring your identity in Christ. Say out loud, “I am
a child of God. I am healed, forgiven, righteous, and holy in Christ Jesus.” Instead of believing the devil’s lies when he uses the first-person pronoun strategy against you, speak your true identity in Jesus.