This Means War
The Word says: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10, NIV) and to “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8, NIV). This means that we have to stay ready so we won’t have to get ready. As Christians, what does that mean? That means we must care for our entire being.
We are spiritual beings first. The Word even talks about how we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12, KJV), which means if your coworker starts to speak at you sideways, the one that’s aggravating you isn’t the coworker, it’s the spirit operating in that coworker. Therefore, we must be on our guards spiritually. We must pray, we must read our Word, we must fast, and we must worship God. Paul refers to the Word as a sword in Ephesians because that’s how you fight the enemy. You use God’s Word against him. Therefore, the more of God’s Word you know, the less susceptible you will be to the tricks of the enemy.
We have souls. Pastor Dharius Daniels refers to the soul as being comprised of the mind, will, emotions, affections and intentions. Therefore, we need to ensure we are strong mentally. How do we do that? We give our hurt and pain to God. We forgive others. We go to therapy. We heal the inner children in us. We operate from our highest-functioning self. We turn our thinking to positive thinking. We speak life over us and our endeavors. We apply Philippians 4:8. Proverbs 23:7 (KJV) says: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Therefore, if you think positively, you begin to speak positively. The enemy can’t stand a positive, full-of-faith mind. In fact, he wants your mind because an idle mind is his playground. He doesn’t have to fight you as much because you’ll self-destruct on your own. Don’t give the enemy the ability. Guard your heart and your mind.
Lastly, we dwell in a physical body. One way the enemy can attack our spirit, mental and emotions is by attacking our body. When we get sick or are injured, it can take a toll on our thought process – fear and doubt can creep in. We can start to blame God or get upset with God. We can get so busy with nursing ourselves to health that our time with the Lord can start to decrease. If we’re exercising, taking vitamins, eating healthy, drinking water and receiving our physical checkups, the enemy will have a harder time causing sickness to ransack our bodies because our immune system will be stronger to fight it.
The enemy is looking for the cheapest and weakest shot he can take so make sure you give him the fight he’s looking for.
