Start Your New Life Today (9 page)
Most Christians know everything the devil says is false—and yet they still listen to his evil words. Sometimes the lies seem to just pop into our minds for no apparent reason; sometimes Satan even speaks to us through other people. He puts something critical or hurtful into their minds about us, and they speak it out for us to hear. If we listen and accept what we hear, our enemy rejoices. If we listen long enough to the deceptive information we have taken in, we will find ourselves facing serious problems. Instead of listening and absorbing the untruths and satanic deceptions, you can look at what Jesus did and follow His example. After fasting for forty days in the wilderness, Satan tempted Him three times. Each time He defeated the devil by declaring, “It is written,” and quoting the Word of God. No wonder the devil fled from Him (see Matthew 4:1–11). Learn the truth of God’s Word, and every time Satan lies to you, quote a scripture back to him. Learn to talk back to the devil!
Too many people don’t know how to use the Word to defeat Satan’s lies. Many people—even Christians—don’t seem to realize they can refuse to listen to that voice. Too many people don’t realize the devil attacks their minds with negative or wrong thoughts. It’s his nature to lie; he is out to enslave everyone.
I encourage people to realize they are not alone in their spiritual battles—they are not the only ones whose minds are under attack. Satan comes against everyone. His goal is to kill, steal, and destroy, but Jesus came so we could have life and enjoy it abundantly (see John 10:10). By becoming more conscious of the spiritual weapons the Lord has made available to us and learning how to use them, we can gain victory. We can break the strongholds the devil has built in our minds. The Bible tells us when we know the truth, it will free us from Satan’s strongholds (see John 8:32).
Too many people don’t realize the devil attacks their minds with negative or wrong thoughts. It’s his nature to lie; he is out to enslave everyone.
Mary illustrates someone who believed Satan’s lies for years. She was mistreated by her father, and by the time she was a teen, she didn’t trust men. It’s no wonder she and her husband faced many conflicts in their marriage. For years, Satan whispered to her that all men were alike and wanted to hurt women and take advantage of them.
As Mary read the Bible and prayed more effectively, she learned it was the devil who was pushing her around. Now she knows she can be free. As Mary develops in her relationship with God, she is equipping herself to win the battle for her mind. She’s learning more about God and more about how to pray effectively.
“Jesus has become my friend,” Mary said. She knew Him as her Savior and worshiped Him as God, but this friendship was a new revelation to her. One day she read Hebrews 2:18 in a totally new light. It says of Jesus, “Because He Himself [in His humanity] has suffered in being tempted (tested and tried), He is able . . . to run to the cry of (assist, relieve) those who are being tempted.”
That passage came alive to Mary because she saw Jesus not only as God, but as her friend—One Who knows what it is to be tempted and Who knows what it is to suffer. “I knew He died on the cross, but I had not thought of all the pain He went through for me. To realize that He understands my pain and problems was a new thought to me.”
Mary also says that when negative, mean, or ugly thoughts come into her head, she is learning to stop those thoughts. “Jesus wouldn’t talk that way. Jesus wouldn’t be critical and judgmental, so that’s the devil fighting for my mind.”
Mary hasn’t won all the battles, but she has learned to fight the great deceiver. Every time she wins one battle, the next one becomes easier.
Think About What You Are Thinking About
S
ome people are very unhappy, and they’ve been that way so long they no longer realize there is another option. I can well remember being like that. I blamed my unhappiness on the way others behaved. I thought my husband and children caused me the most unhappiness. If they would change and just be a little more sensitive to my needs, I knew I would feel better. If they would help around the house more, volunteer to run errands, or just ask how I was doing, I knew I would be happy. Of course, I never said anything to them.
If they were sensitive and caring,
I thought,
they would be able to see how they could help me and make my life easier.
I did pray about it, and I often told God how much happier I would be if they cooperated more, but they didn’t change.
One day, God revealed something to me—but it wasn’t what I wanted to know. He impressed me with the words,
Think about what you are thinking about.
I had no idea what God meant. In fact, the words didn’t make sense. How could I think about what I was thinking about?
My mind raced from one thought to another, and I realized the truth: My thoughts centered on myself and my needs. I thought that if
they—the other people in my life
—changed, I would be happy. I reluctantly admitted that even if they changed, I would find something else to be unhappy about. I was just unhappy and didn’t need any particular reason. It was first one thing and then another.
As I pondered my condition, I thought of Philippians 4:8, where Paul presents a list of the kinds of things needing our focus. If God did not want me to think about the things I was thinking about, I first needed to know what I
should
think about. I soon realized I had a lot to learn. Although I had been attending church for years, I could not remember anyone ever telling me how important my thoughts were to God and to my quality of life.
If we concentrate our thoughts on good things, the kind of things Paul mentions in that verse—“Whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them]”—we will be built up. We will grow spiritually and become strong in the Lord.
God tells us to do things that are for our good. He wants us to be happy and fulfilled.
As I continued to meditate on God’s message, I realized how my thoughts affected my attitude—and this is true of all of us. God tells us to do things that are for our good. He wants us to be happy and fulfilled. If we want happiness and fulfillment, we must find it God’s way. If we’re full of wrong thoughts, we’re miserable. That’s not a theory—that’s spoken from my own experience and is found in God’s Word. I’ve also learned that when we’re miserable, we usually end up making others around us miserable too.
Since those days, I’ve made it a practice to take a regular inventory of my thoughts. I review the way I think.
What have I been thinking about?
I ask myself.
I stress this because—as I learned from my own experience—Satan deceives us into thinking that the source of our misery or pain is other people or sometimes our situations. He tries to keep us from facing our own thoughts as the source of our unhappiness. I would venture to say that it is practically impossible to be happy while maintaining negative, critical, depressing thoughts. We need to overcome Satan’s attempted deception in this area of the battle for our thoughts, and God will help us if we ask Him.
Peace in the Night
W
hat is it about nighttime that makes us seem more vulnerable to discouragement, fear, and negative thoughts? Is it just because it’s dark? Is there some kind of association between evil and the darkness of night? We may find we are able to cope with whatever happens to us during the day, but really struggle at night.
My theory is that by evening, most of us are tired and weary, and we just want to lie down, close our eyes, and drift into peaceful sleep. Satan knows we are not as resistant to his attacks when we are exhausted and sleepy, so this becomes one of his favorite times to engage us in the battle of our minds. And just as we are about to drop off to sleep, he makes his move.
If we recognize we’re more susceptible to the attack of the enemy at night, we can take steps to be better prepared to stand against him. Some of my friends tell me they find it helps to meditate on scriptures such as Philippians 4:8, which tell us to think on the good things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and excellent. Or they claim the promise of Isaiah 26:3: “You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You.” These words from the Bible enable us to remain vigilant even in the dark hours of night. By using the Word of God, we can defeat every onslaught of the enemy—even in our weakest hours.
By using the Word of God, we can defeat every onslaught of the enemy—even in our weakest hours.
If we have not armed ourselves with the Word and spent some time in prayer, however, we will fall for Satan’s plan when he brings to mind some troublesome event of the day, causing us to think to ourselves,
Why did I say that? How could I have been so insensitive?
He takes advantage of us when he knows we are weak and the most vulnerable to his influence. His goal is to disturb our thoughts and rob us of the peaceful rest our bodies need. One of his tricks is to cause us to focus on the problems of the day, suggesting that we must immediately—in the middle of the night—determine the best way to settle the issue.
I experienced nights like this years ago, and I didn’t always win the battle. But as a more experienced Christian, I now know how to fight the good fight of faith. Here’s one thing I figured out a long time ago: It is not wise to make decisions in the middle of the night. Most decisions can wait until the next day.
Perhaps we spoke hastily or didn’t respond kindly to someone’s need. Someone may have spoken unkindly to us. The issues are often little things that probably could have been handled better. But as Satan wages his battle in the dark of night, those little things seem to take on importance and urgency—so much so we believe we will never sleep unless we settle the issue immediately.
When Satan tries to pull that nighttime trick on me, I’ve learned to say, “I’ll deal with this issue in the morning, when the sun is shining. After I’ve rested, I can cope.” I’ve also learned I can say, “Lord, I surrender this to You. Give me Your rest, Your peace, and help me make the right decision in the morning.” That works for me!
Control Your Wandering Thoughts
I
n the days when Peter wrote the words in 1 Peter 1:13, men wore long, flowing robes that hindered fast progress or strenuous action. “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (
KJV
). Men wore broad belts (or girdles) around their waists, and when they wanted to move into action, they “girded up their loins”—that is, they shortened their robes by pulling them up inside their belts. That phrase is similar to what we mean when we say, “Roll up your sleeves.” Peter’s words here are a serious call to action—a reminder that when we lose our focus, it is time for us to do some serious thinking.
If you do not discipline your mind to remain focused on what is important, the devil will cause it to wander aimlessly to other things.
Staying too busy can result in an abnormal mind as opposed to a normal mind. Another way the devil attacks your normal mind is by causing your thoughts to wander. It’s a mental attack. If you do not discipline your mind to remain focused on what is important, the devil will cause it to wander aimlessly to other things.
When this inability to concentrate goes on for a while, you may begin to wonder if there is something wrong with your mind. What you often fail to realize is that when you allow your mind to wander too long it becomes a deeply rooted bad habit. In some cases, there may be physical causes for not being able to concentrate, such as anemia or certain B-vitamin deficiencies. You may not be eating properly. Or you may have become excessively fatigued. It’s a good idea to consider all the potential causes as you search for a solution. I’ve learned that when I’m excessively tired, Satan tries to attack my mind because he knows it’s more difficult for me to resist him during those times.
Sometimes a lack of concentration creates a lack of comprehension. Perhaps as you are reading the Bible, you find yourself hurrying to get through so you can do something else. Out of a sense of duty, you are determined to finish reading a chapter—and you do. But when you are finished, you can’t recall anything you read. Your eyes scanned the pages, but your mind was engaged somewhere else.
Perhaps you have even experienced this battle for your mind in church. You attend regularly—the devil hasn’t been able to stop that—but he still causes your mind to wander during the sermon. Have you ever been fully engrossed in listening to a sermon, and then you suddenly realize your mind has wandered and you have no idea what was said?
If the devil can rob you of the benefits of reading the Bible and hearing God’s Word at church, he has won some major skirmishes in the battle for your mind. This is why Peter says to “gird up the loins of your mind.” You must take action by confronting your wandering mind and disciplining it to focus on what is important.
In conversation, I used to fake it when I realized my mind had wandered. Now I deal with it honestly and when it is appropriate I ask, “Would you please back up and repeat that? I let my mind wander off, and I didn’t hear a thing you said.” This kind of behavior not only interrupts the plan of the enemy but also brings victory over the problem.
It’s not easy to discipline your mind when it has been allowed to wander aimlessly, but you can do it. When you discover your thoughts have wandered, you must exercise discipline and make the necessary corrections. The devil would like to convince you that you can’t help yourself, but when you consistently come against his bid for your mind, he is defeated, and you have won another battle.