2 Corinthians 10:4-5, The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  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.

I know we have talked about this multiple times, but satan has ramped up his attack, and we cannot be reminded enough to wage war against this every day! These are familiar verses, and we know our biggest battle with our enemy is fought in our minds. That isn’t to say that “it’s all in your head”; rather, it means that satan knows if he can defeat you in your thought-life, he has free access to everything else in your life. What you think you become. Wherever your focus is, that is where you will go. We usually focus on the phrase, “take captive every thought,” but we also need to see what is said just before that. You can see the deeper strategy of the war he is waging against you: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.”

When you accept Jesus as your Savior, He gives you His Spirit to live within you. Stop for a moment and think of all that the Spirit of God contains.  It goes beyond the display of “power”; it includes wisdom and knowledge of who He is and who He created you to be.  Genesis 1 tells us that we were created in His image, and in Psalms, we see that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. God created each of us with a purpose and plan in mind, and satan wants to keep you from it by replacing the “knowledge of God” and what He says with lies from Hell.  In other words, when you don’t take those thoughts captive, they are waging war against the “knowledge of God” that He has said to be true.  One benefit of His Spirit living within you is self-control, which gives you the power to reject any lie ~ whether it says that you can’t accomplish anything, you don’t measure up, or that God loves everyone but you. Whatever the lie he is trying to use, you can reject it.  When those thoughts start to bombard you, remember James 4:7, “Therefore submit to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  Submitting to God means to take Him at His Word, so stay in His Word every day.  Don’t allow satan to feed your mind with his lies.  As soon as a lying thought pops into your head, resist it. Tell him to leave you alone, in Jesus’ name.  God has equipped you for all He has called you to, and truth is found in Him alone!

This reminds me of the old Cherokee Legend:

An old grandfather was teaching his grandson about life:

“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.  “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.  One is evil ~ he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”  He continued, “The other is good ~ he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.  The same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather:  “Which wolf will win?”

The grandfather simply replied, “The one you feed.”

It isn’t enough to just resist negative thoughts. We must feed our minds with the Word of God.  We must choose which thought we will agree with every single time ~ the lie from Hell or the truth from God.  To become all He created you to be, you must choose.  

I find that satan loves to attack when I am tired, unwell, in uncomfortable situations, or any other “opportune” time.  He doesn’t mind waiting until he thinks you’re weak. You must set your mind so that when any thought comes against the knowledge of God, it is not entertained for even a moment. Reject it immediately! Be intentional. Train yourself that as soon as a lie hits, you simply reply, “Get behind me, satan! I will accomplish all God has for me. I am who He says I am in Jesus’ name!”  Don’t allow that bully to have a moment of your time!  He must listen because the Spirit of the Most High God lives within you, and He has already overcome!

God has a plan for you, and He wants to use your story for His glory!  You are an overcomer!  Our time is short; we don’t have time to be entertained by the enemy’s garbage. The battle is in your mind, but the beauty of that is that it is YOUR mind! Take those thoughts captive; the battle has been won unless you choose defeat.  If you struggle with this, just ask God for strength. Ask Him to remind you to stop every rogue thought at the door of your mind. Whose life may be changed if you set your mind on what God says ~ not only about you but about them?  That is what satan is trying to stop ~ your purpose.  Let’s take our stand and block the enemy so we can be who God created us to be!