Think About Your Thoughts

The enemy attacks at many different times in our daily lives. Two of these times are, when you are at a high point in your life and when you are at a low point in your life. Both are hard to navigate through because they are subtle. Satan knows when and how to get you. He has studied you since you were born. He knows your weaknesses, your insecurities and the very things that destroy your confidence. He can walk you right into a “self pity” mode- or a “I deserve _____” mode. Both of these are ignited in our lives through the thoughts that he drops in our minds. And if these thoughts aren’t caught right away, they will grow a root. Once the root takes a hold in our minds, the tree begins to grow throughout. The longer we dwell on these false words, or justify them, the more branches grow. The fruits of this thinking are dangerous. They lie to us. They appear to be good or right for us and when we grab onto them, they are rotten and destroy us from within. These “fruits” make us believe that there is something better beyond what we already have. They make us believe that we are owed something better because of the pain we’ve gone through. These are the ways that the enemy slowly makes his way into our lives. (“We demolish 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 10:5) This kind of thinking ruins marriages, breaks apart homes and destroys relationships. We tend to justify these thoughts when we have endured some kind of pain.

God will never put something in front of you that goes against His Word. No matter how good it looks, no matter how sweet it smells, no matter what excuses you try to make- He never contradicts himself. God will always try to reconcile relationships, keep you on course and help you make choices that lead you closer to Him. He is laying down for us, the path of righteousness. He also knows that the enemy can appear to be a light. (“ And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light” 2 Corinthians 11:14) We fall into the traps of the enemy because they appear to be mostly right. But if we really look at the whole picture, there is also wrong mixed in. A lot of times we ignore that little bit of wrong mixed in because the “mostly right” can be justified. God’s way isn’t mostly right, it’s fully right. The enemy knows how we operate. God knows how we operate. We constantly hear thoughts, all day, every day. I always say, there’s 3 thought voices you hear all day, God, the enemy and yourself. YOU have to discern which one is which. I know that sounds a little weird. That you have to discern between God and the enemy- BUT- if you do not have a close relationship with God, you will get those voices twisted. The more time you spend with God, the more of His voice you will hear and the easier it will be to tell the enemy to take a hike. (“The Lord—knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath.”Psalm 94:11) Satan’s job is to test us. WE give him authority over us. Yes, we do. Every time we choose wrong and know it, we grant him permission in our lives. Every time we make an excuse for our wrong actions, we shake his hand. People don’t like to admit this because no one wants to say that they allowed the enemy in. If you sit down and think about it, it is true.

The other truth is that God knows this. He sees everything, every thought, every action and every motive. He is the One who deciphers why we choose what we choose. He sees our hearts, our pains and the obstacles put in front of us. Although He will continually give us a way out of this kind of destruction, His mercy is beyond measurable and He will still be there to pick us up when we fall to the hands of the enemy. He factors in every piece of the puzzle, He knows we’re human and we struggle on earth. Even when others don’t forgive us, He does. Even when people don’t understand why we did something, He will. And when people point their fingers at us for falling, He wipes away our tears. The more we choose His way, the less we will hear the enemy. When we can fight the battle of the mind, we will begin to win against the enemy. If the enemy can grab a hold of the mind, he can operate through our actions each day. The more we spend time with God and hear His Word, we will be able to know His voice. (“For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:11) His voice is subtle. The enemy’s voice is loud- and he talks smoothly. Almost like a feeling of comfort and peace. But it always has a hint of evil. If you can catch that small hint of evil, you will catch his lies and be able to push those thoughts out. Jesus will always be there to replace the lies of the enemy with His Truth.

Watch out for what you are thinking. The mental and emotional high that you get from listening to the enemy is artificially achieved and the fall is real and it is painful. The thoughts of the enemy bring death. Death to relationships. Death to peace and our confidence. The thoughts that God gives us bring life. They grow in us the Fruit of the Spirit. (“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23) They fill us with hope, love and truth. His tree bears real fruit that will satisfy our souls. His branches reach out and touch other people’s lives. His roots never die, they never wither and they can withstand any kind of storm that the enemy tries to throw at us. His tree of life stands firm and fruitful forever.