I know a young woman who struggled with an eating disorder for more than a decade. She said that she knew Satan used her mind to keep her in bondage by continually filling it with destructive thoughts.
Our thoughts are one of the hardest areas for us to control, yet they are often the easiest for Satan to use against us.
Our imaginations, thoughts, and even our dreams can fuel every kind of negative thought from lust to guilt to revenge, filling our mind with images that can pull us away from the Lord, His voice, and His plan for our lives. The Enemy’s goal is to keep our minds so occupied that we don’t hear God’s voice.
The Apostle Paul understood that believers don’t wage war as the world does. Our enemy is a spiritual being who fights a spiritual war against us. Paul tells us that Satan has built two fortresses to prevent people from getting close to God and hearing from Him. He calls these strongholds “imaginations” and “every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:5 ASV).
The warfare for our minds requires spiritual weapons with divine powers to scale the ramparts of Satan’s fortresses and demolish them. Seminars, counseling, and discussions can be wonderful tools, but in themselves they aren’t adequate to scale the ramparts of Satan’s fortresses and demolish them.
In Ephesians 6, Pail lists our weapons and tells us to “put on the full armor of God” (v. 11). The piece of spiritual armor that protects our thought life is the helmet of salvation. Having our heads covered with it keeps us safe and helps us stand firm and fight with confidence as we demolish strongholds.
When I face a challenge, Satan says to me, “You know you’re a failure. You’ve faced this before, and you’ve failed before. God is disappointed in you. You can’t do anything right.” Then I read God’s Word, and it assures me that all my sin has been covered by Christ’s blood. It tells me Christ loves me and that Satan is the crown prince of liars.
Excerpt from He Speaks to Me, Copyright 2006 by Priscilla Shirer. Published by Moody Publishers. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
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