Your Mind is a Battlefield Part 1: Do You Know Who Your Real Enemy Is?

Have you ever wondered how sometimes one thought can spiral out of control?

One minute you are happy and joyful. Then you have a fleeting thought about something that could happen, should be happening, or might happen. The next thing you know, you are in a dark place, and you have no clue how you got there.

Pondering upon that one fleeting thought leads to a whirlwind of emotions, including fear, anxiety, sadness, doubt, guilt, and sometimes anger.

The truth is, your mind is a battlefield. You have a real enemy warring for your soul. He starts the battle in your mind by planting seeds in your thoughts.

The first step in learning how to fight this battle and ultimately winning the war is identifying who your real enemy is, and recognizing his plots, schemes, and tactics.

Surprisingly, although the Bible clearly states it, there are many Christians who don’t even believe that satan (your adversary) exists. That is one of his tactics. If he can get you to focus on anything but him (your spouse, children, coworkers, finances) and fight against those things instead of him, he is winning the battle.

If I were your enemy, I’d disguise myself and manipulate your perspectives so that you’d focus on the wrong culprit - your husband, your friend, your hurt, your finances, and anything or anyone except me. Because when you zero in on the most convenient, obvious places to strike back against your problems, you get the impression you’re fighting for something. Even though all you’re really doing is just…figthing. For nothing. ~ Priscilla Shirer. Excerpt from Fervent.

If you are arguing with your spouse, snapping at your children, and sending “corporate clap-backs” to your boss and coworkers by email, you are fighting against the wrong thing. And this is what the enemy wants. He is the accuser of the brethren. He has planted seeds of doubt, twisted scenarios, magnified shortcomings, whispered lies and accusations, that is causing divisiveness in relationships and turmoil in your mind.

The bible tells us in Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. “

We are swinging at things that we CAN see, when the real battle is against things that we cannot see.

We are using the wrong weaponry, so we sometimes find ourselves in a losing battle.

The first place that we saw satan rear his ugly head was in the Garden of Eden. He twisted God’s words, planted seeds of doubt, and suggested that God’s word wasn’t true. Eve bought into those lies and found herself outside of the safety and will of her Father.

He is still using those same tactics today.

If we ponder upon the lies of the enemy, we can find ourselves doubting God’s word, His love for us, and even His existence.

He plants lies, such as “God doesn’t love us and that’s why we are in the situation that we are in.” He tells us that God is never going to deliver us from this situation, and the bible is not full of promises, but lies. In the end, it will leave us feeling anxious, depressed, overwhelmed, fearful, and alone.

“You are a failure at being a mom.”

“You will never get any further than you are right now.”

“That child will always be rebellious.”

“It’s not really a sin. The Bible didn’t mean that literally.”

“This will never work out for you and your family.”

“How did you get yourself into this? You will never get all of that accomplished.”

“You are a laughing stock in your career. “

I could go on and on about the lies and seeds of doubt that the enemy will plant.

The enemy will always tell you a lie about the truth.

Pondering on that one fleeting thought can lead you into such a dark place that it seems like you will not be able to get out.

Take heart, my sister. God has given us all the tools that we need to fight against our enemy. The first step is not being ignorant of the enemy’s devices.

This is nothing to be fearful of. God has given us victory and power over our enemy. Satan is already defeated. We just have to know how to fight.

God is careful and strategic. He will never leave us defenseless.

Stay tuned for the next week’s blog post about how to use our weaponry.

Until then, stay encouraged. Know that you have the victory.