Someone Stronger

Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Someone Stronger

On a gloomy, wet, and dreary day, it is easy to get caught up in the hum-glum feeling of the day. I am definitely guilty of this. If it's dreary and gloomy outside, I'm not the happiest person you have ever met. What I have learned over the years is that it's days like today when the devil tries to use your gloomy mood to his advantage.

The evil will use your gloomy attitude to invade your mind with thoughts that are not from God. He will push every single weakness and insecurity button possible to make you turn from God. And sometimes it works. Satan will bombard us with lies like "You're not good enough." "You're a horrible friend." "You're lazy and won't do anything productive or amazing with your life." "You're ugly." "No one really, truly loves you."

Let me tell you, dear friend, these are the worst lies that have ever been told in the history of the universe. I could go on and on telling you all the lies that Satan has used on me to try and get me to turn against God and grieve His spirit. There have been days, weeks, months, and even years where Satan has set up camp in my mind. He spent every waking moment of my days filling my mind with his poisonous lies.

Eventually, I had enough. I confided in my mom and told her what was going on in my mind. She told me that our battle with Satan is not so much physical as it is spiritual. Our battlefield is our mind.

So, go with me on this one. Our mind is like an open field. It's a perfect place for an all-out war. Satan gets to the field first and sets up camp. It takes him a while to get settled and he slowly adds more and more weapons to his arsenal. When he first comes to camp, he only has a few soldiers with a couple of swords. A couple days later, there is a whole army that has taken over the field and set up tents all over the field. In a few more days, more soldiers arrive with guns and cannons and lots of ammunition. A few more days pass and more soldiers arrive with helicopters, tanks, and atomic bombs. Finally, Satan and his army is ready for battle. They have completely taken over the field and it looks like whoever opposes them will be crushed, blown up, and killed on arrival.

Then, someone stronger arrives.

Jesus is on the scene.

He comes in and completely wipes out Satan, his army, and his weapons. There's absolutely nothing left. It's a waste land.

"When a strong man, armed to the teeth, stands guard in his front yard, his property is safe and sound. But what if a stronger man comes along with superior weapons? Then he's beaten at his own game, the arsenal that gave him so much confidence is hauled off, his possessions plundered."
(Luke 11:21-22 The Message)

Satan comes to our minds and our hearts armed to the teeth. He makes it his home and stands guard. He wants to protect what he thinks is his. Then Jesus comes along with superior weapons. His weapons are not swords or guns or bombs. He comes with the power to make the oceans rage and the winds calm. He comes with the strength to move mountains and raise the dead. He comes clothed in holiness, power, and perfection. He has come to claim what is really His. Satan is beaten, his confidence is stripped from him, and his weapons are made defective.

Dear friends, our minds do not belong to Satan. They belong to Christ Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. If you ever feel down and Satan has set up camp in your mind, Jesus can make it right. If we ask Him, He will fight for us. He will clear our mind of Satan's attacks. Jesus has also blessed us with weapons of our own to fight off the devil and his crafty schemes.

In Ephesians 6:10-20, Paul talks about the armor of God and what each piece of the armor does. It may seem like that armor might not make much of a difference when we first put it on but practice makes perfect. Satan will attack again. Sometimes, He attacks more than once a day. His attacks will give us plenty of chances to get good at using the armor of God and protecting our minds. The better we get, the less Satan will set up camp and take over everything.

"Be strong in the Lord and in his almighty power."
(Ephesians 6:10 NIV)

Posted by Allison Mozingo