Spiritual Warfare

The weapons that God has given us to defend ourselves are mighty.  Our God is a loving Father that desires his children to win. Jesus set the example in that he overcame the world. His desire is that we have peace. In the midst of tribulation, he said be of good cheer. Basically assuring us that he overcame the world and so will we. Our weapons are mighty because they are backed by the power of Almighty God. There is no might greater than the might of our God. One thing to note is that the battleground with our weaponry is primarily fought in our mind. When we dissect 2Cor 10:5, note that we are dealing with the imagination, knowledge and thoughts. These are places that persist in the mind. So, when you look at the battle, 75% of it is in the mind. The other 25% are strongholds that the devil has constructed.  That means it’s time to stop blaming the devil for all of our battles, and begin to walk in victory in our mind. I once heard a preacher say “the enemy is in-a-me”.  This make be difficult to digest, but it should also be encouraging because it means that 75% of the challenges you face can be eradicated by walking in victory in your mind. Let’s look at the 75% zone.

The 75% Zone:

By God’s might, imaginations are cast down. Imaginations are reasoning (conscience, conceit). It is the part of us that asks why and attempts to make God fit in our box of how things should be done.  His ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts. The finite mind of man can never compare to the infinite wisdom of God.  The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens Pro 3:19. Our imagination, logic, and reasoning have to be cast down for us to walk in victory. The weapon that casts down imaginations is Trust. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Prov 3:5-6 As a believer, the weapon for 25% of your battles is trusting God. Trust God’s Word. Trust God’s character. Trust that God loves you and only wants the best for you. Too many times, what’s best for us and what we want are not the same. So the real choice becomes do you want what you want or do you want what’s best? That often means trusting God because what’s best doesn’t always coincide with what we want.

• Trust in the LORD, and do good; [so] shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (Psa 37:3).
• The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe (Pro 29:25).
• And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee (Psa 9:10).
• Blessed [is] the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and [that] spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit (Jer 17:7-8).
• But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation (Psa 13:5).

By God’s might, every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God is cast down. Knowledge is defined as knowing; it is facts and science. High things come to cause you to question what you know about God. Sometimes, they challenge your facts about God, and what he has proven in your life. The battlefield for this enemy is obviously the mind. Doubt, lies, and pride are some examples of high things. Satan came as a serpent to Eve saying, “hath God said”. He planted a seed of doubt and caused her to question the facts and what she knew about God. Then he said, “ye shall not surely die”. He lied. He went on to say that God knows you will be like the gods. Eve bought the lies. Because after conversing with the devil, “she saw that the tree was good for food”. She became proud. She now knew as much as God and didn’t need to heed his word. The devil came as an external source of high things that exalted itself against the knowledge of God. For those few seconds, minutes, or hours, there was a battle in her mind between the high things and knowledge of God. Here again, the en-e-my was in-a-me. People may introduce concepts and information, and cause you to question what you know about God, but these high things can be cast down by God’s might. The weapon that God has given to defeat this enemy is Humility. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fear of the Lord causes you to reverence God and acknowledge him as all-wise and all-knowing. When God is exalted, flesh is debased. Her conversation with the serpent would have been short if Eve had operated in humility. As soon as the devil said, “hath God said”, she would have rebuked him. Something in her would have risen up and said, who are you to question the God of all creation? I don’t know what hole you crawled out of, but the God that I walk, talk, commune, and fellowship with created everything you see in this garden. I believe him. Now, get out of my face. She would have preached to that serpent about the goodness of her God and that he would never lead her astray. She would have told him how much God loves her and Adam to put them in such a beautiful place and give them so many options for food. It would have gone another way.

• The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge: [but] fools despise wisdom and instruction (Prov 1:7).

[2Co 10:5 KJV] 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and ; the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses. </br>

By God’s might, every thought is brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. You have to be constantly aware of your thoughts; scanning for anything that is contrary to God’s word. Your thoughts, feelings, emotions, and experiences can work against you. But, you have the power to arrest your thoughts, take them bound and shackled, and force them to line up with God’s word. Here’s what happens. God speaks a word, and you can initially receive it. But if you’re not careful his word will be processed internally against all you know, think, feel, and believe. When this happens, doubt and fear can creep in. Imagine walking on the waters like Peter. His gaze was steadfast on the Lord as he walked on the water. He wasn’t concerned about sinking, but when he saw the boisterous wind he began to sink. Maybe he had a flashback to previous storms. As an experienced fisherman, he had probably endured many storms. He knew the damage that wind can cause when you’re at sea. Peter allowed his thoughts, feelings, emotions and experiences with wind to override the joy of walking on water with Jesus.

Jesus said to take no thought for your life, food, drink, or clothes (Matt 6:25). Food, drink and clothes are obvious needs, but Jesus said to take no thought. For your life, that’s everything concerning you, Jesus said to take no thought. That’s so much easier said than done. But Jesus also said, my peace I give unto you (John 14:27). He said not the world’s peace, but the peace of God. According to the Apostle Paul, the peace of God, passes all understanding and will keep your heart and mind through Christ Jesus. Peace is a keeper and it is a weapon that God has given us to bring our thoughts into captivity. Any thoughts that don’t bring peace aren’t Godly thoughts.

One day at work, there was an error found in data that I exported. After some analysis, it was concluded that the issue was how the script was run and an oversight on my part. Immediately, my thoughts were negative. They will think I’m an idiot. And how will this look for my performance? The thoughts just came. But nothing negative can dwell alongside the peace of God not fear, doubt, intimidation, or worry. But peace is a choice. I made the mental adjustment to take no thought of how my peers and supervisor perceived me or the impact on my job. They were negative thoughts that disturbed my peace. Instead, I shifted my thoughts towards God. I said God you gave me this job and you’re the only one that can take it away. It doesn’t matter what they think or feel. And I began to thank God because he is God. He reigns and rules over all. As I did that, the peace of the Lord rested in my soul. Peace is power!

The 25% Zone:

• By his might, strong holds are pulled down. Stong holds are places that have been fortified to protect itself. These are things or places that strenthened so that they are difficult or seemingly impossible to move. But no matter what stronghold you may face, it is subject to the mighty weapons you yield and the mighty one living on the inside of you. For GREATER is he that is in you than he, it, they, them and those that are in the world.  

Below is a brief description of some of the weaponry in your artillery that will prayerfully inspire you to walk in victory in every area of your life.