I admit recently I became complacent in spiritual warfare. I’ve gone from looking for the enemy in every circumstance to just chalking it all up to living in a sinful world. We have an enemy and he is real. Like a predator he will take his pounce on the prey when most vulnerable.
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)
As believers we are to stay on guard and alert to the schemes of the evil one. He will take advantage of us when we are weak and weary.
One area that I am working on is self-condemnation. I can be my own enemy sometimes, but my real enemy knows how to take advantage of it.
The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
(Jeremiah 17:9, NIV)
My heart has deceived me many times. Thoughts come in and torture me. Why am I a wife? Why did God let me be a mother? Perhaps I’m ruining these children. Why would God want me to do anything for Him? I’m no good. I can’t seem to do anything right. I’ve tried and tried and I fail again and again. All outright lies!!
The enemy has taken these thoughts that I have spoken and used them against me. I’ve even allowed him to plant more negative thoughts in my mind. BUT God is more powerful than my emotions!
This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 1 John 3:19-20 (NIV)
God knows everything. He knows how I feel and I can confide my emotions to Him. I can release all my feelings to Him. Then God can change my feelings.
What did Jesus do when He was tempted by the evil one? In Matthew 4, Jesus who was the Word in the flesh spoke the Word of God to Satan. Jesus is our example on how to live. He did not say, “I’ll think about that one. Let me call the prayer chain.” Or “Let me call my pastor (friend, mom, husband, etc) and get some council on this.” He immediately spoke the Word of God. He had the Word hidden in his heart.
I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:11 (NIV)
We too must hide the Word of God in our hearts. We must know the Word so when thoughts, trials, and tribulations come against us we can speak the Word of God. God promises that His word will accomplish what He sent it to accomplish and it will not return void. (Isaiah 55:11) The devil lies to us. We have a choice to believe those lies or believe the Word of God. God cannot lie!
The Word of God says, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer 29:11 NIV) God has a plan for our life.
The Word says, “Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.” (Ps 127:3 NIV) The Lord rewards us with children. He blessed me to be a mother.
About my failures, the Word says, “for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again.” (Prov. 24:16 NIV) And again and again I will rise.
I find my strength in Him. “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Phil 4:13 NIV)
Let’s say what God’s Word says, believe it, and hide it in our hearts. It is more powerful than our words.
Please take a moment to listen to the song below by
Blessings in Christ--
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7 gracious comments:
This is good medicine for the soul. Why we as women beat ourselves up over details I will never understand, but I know full well how much we do it. The enemy indeed knows our weakness, but He is stronger in us, than he that is in the world. Keep up the great posts. You inspire me!
I'm glad I'm not alone! My heart deceives me too! I listen to the enemy's lies way too much!
I'm glad our God is way bigger than anything the enemy can try to make us believe! I want to hide in the Word of God!
I LOVE that song! Thank you so much for sharing!
Blessings to you!
Angie xoxo
SHONDA GOOD MORNING! I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR WRITING THIS PIECE. BECAUSE IT IS HOW I FEEL MOST OF THE TIME AND THAN I READ PIECES LIKE YOURS. AND I REALIZE THAT I AM A BLESSING FROM THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. I PRAY THAT YOUR AND YOUR HAVE A BLESS DAY.
Thank you Shonda for visiting my blog, for it prompted me to view yours. On thursday nights we are doing the "When godly people do ungodly things" and what you said goes right along with what we've been learning. The enemy does lie to us. And when our children do things that are wrong, when we've taught them what is right we tend to blame ourselves that we didn't do something right. We missed something, forgot to say something, missed a warning sign or maybe too permissive. Can you tell I've also had experience with this? Thanks for the post, God bless your efforts to defeat the enemy before he strikes.
Isn't it good to know that we can pour out all (and I mean ALL) of our emotions to God? That's something I didn't use to do. But I am doing that more and more.
Thanks for sharing this!
Karen
http://thetagblog.blogspot.com/
SHONDA! I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR TELLING ME ABOUT THAT WEB SITE. YOU AND MY AUNT MARY HAVE ENCOURAGED ME SO MUCH. THANKS AGAIN.
So glad to discover your blog today. Blessings to you and your sweet family!
Over the years I've discovered the best way to overcome the darts of the enemy is to keep standing on truth. Renounce every lie and believe what God says about you! That's pretty much all the spiritual warfare we need because Satan is already defeated. He only has as much control over us as we believe his lies.
Praising God for your sweet spirit!
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