The main war was already won when the
Good Shepherd died on the cross for our sins and was victorious over Satan. But
how do we keep fighting the daily spiritual battles? Satan will not give up
even though he’s already lost his authority and power. He is still
going around still threatening, still dangerous, and still insanely refusing to
give up and surrender. His goal now is to take out as many of those who belong
to the Good Shepherd as possible. He feels victorious when he is able to get
inside your head and mess up how you think. Sometimes as humans we tend to do
or believe things to one extreme or another. Some may blame Satan for
everything that goes wrong in their lives and others like to pretend that he
does not exist.
When the topic of Spiritual warfare
comes up we often envision demons and dragons. Some may think it is all about
rebuking evil forces and using anointing oil. Yes, these things are certainly a
part of spiritual warfare, but the most dangerous part is the unseen attacks of
Satan. Mind games and deceptions have always been his preferred tools. Our
thoughts are directly linked to our emotions and actions. WE are the ones who
decide how much authority he has, by the choices we make, and the thoughts we
think.
I am not a person who has extensively
studied books on spiritual warfare.
But because
of the SRA (Satanic Ritual Abuse) in my past I have seen and experienced the
damage that people who listen to Satan can do. And I know first hand how He can
mess with your mind. This is a subject that I feel very passionate about and I
want others to know how I learned to stand up and fight against him.
I look at spiritual warfare as a daily
spiritual battle. I deal with it one day at a time. I believe that Satan can
influence our hearts and our minds. The battles of life are either lost or won
in the mind. Whatever I accept in my mind becomes reality and Satan knows this.
So, he starts dropping thoughts or suggestions or ideas in my mind. Even though
my thoughts would start out positive he would try to lead me off track and
right back to the old familiar patterns of my past. Sometimes when small things
happened around me I would begin having thoughts that made the small situations
into something it was not…and was never going to be. I believe these are
Satan’s attacks on me to get me to follow through with decisions that was
hurtful to me and those close to me. I believe he watches us very closely and
he knows how we will react to certain things. He only has power as much as we
give it to him in our thoughts, our hearts, and the decisions we make that are
influenced by him. One of his favorite ways is through the fears and
uncertainties of the future, fear of the present, and fear and remorse of the
past. When I was at my lowest I was so discouraged that I didn’t feel like my
soul even existed anymore.
When I was starting to trust the Good
Shepherd, I was very confused as to which voice was His? (When I say voice, I
am referring to the thoughts in my head.) I couldn’t tell which thoughts came
from Satan and which ones came from the Good Shepherd. I started asking Him
“please let me know your Voice each and every time you speak to me”. I learned
when thoughts come to my mind from the Good Shepherd they are gentle and
peaceful. If He needs to chastise me he does so in a way that does not condemn
me but restores me. When Satan is messing with me it is always confusing and
chaotic, and he tries to make me feel bad about myself.
Life is not a joke to Satan. He knows
what the Bible says and he knows what it says about his future. He is not
looking at us and laughing it up. He has us in his cross-hairs and he is not
smiling. He want to destroy us in anyway possible!
So how do I stand up and fight against
him? I fall on my knees in absolute and utter humility. In a battle surrender
appears to be weakness, but my weakness and humble surrender to the Good
Shepherd is my only defense against Satan’s mind games. He is always trying to draw
me into a match of wits. He is hoping I will try and defend myself on my own
strength when he comes at me with words of discouragement. I know I cannot ever
win fighting him on my own so I work on hiding myself in the Good Shepherd
through a humble and prayerful attitude, reading and meditating on His word,
and cultivating a quiet mind. Each time Satan messes with my mind I want him to
come face to face with the Good Shepherd, and not with me.
Through my healing and my past I have
learned that some of the most important battles I have ever faced can be won or
lost in my mind. When my mind is NOT at rest and “quiet” in the Good Shepherd
things can go wrong. A lot of my failures have resulted because my mind was too
preoccupied with “other things” to hear His still small voice. And when my mind
is too loud to hear His voice then my pride takes over and I start to think I
can fight Satan on my own. Obviously, pride and humility cannot peacefully
co-exist together in my heart so one
ultimately wins out.
We do not use those things to fight
with that the world uses. We use the things God gives to fight with and they
have power. Those things God gives to fight with destroy the strong-places of
the devil. We break down every thought and proud thing that puts itself up
against the wisdom of God. We take hold of every thought and make it obey
Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5(NLT)
Guarding my mind is one of the most
important keys to winning when Satan messes with me. I am utterly and totally
depended on the Good Shepherds wonderful grace and mercy for every breath of my
life. Knowing who I am in Him, knowing the truth, being strong in the power of
His might and strength and not on my own power, is my best defense.
Loving the Good Shepherd and loving
others. Learning how to have a close relationship with Him, and learning how to
hear His voice and follow it is going to be the greatest accomplishment I will
make in this life.
May the Good Shepherd bless you as you pursue a
closer relationship with Him!
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