by Dianne Thomas
dianne@grace2you.com
Our Weapons to Overcome
Preparing for Battle:
Recognition of our identity
Experiencing a dependent relationship with Christ is the foundation for overcoming the enemy. The more fully we understand who we are in Him, who He is in us, and then join Him in His purposes in our lives and in this earth the more fully we are engaged in His activities, one of which is to destroy the works of the evil one. Learning how to use our weapons is not only for our sake, to protect ourselves and overcome the enemy in our lives, but also to be available to the Lord to set others free, so they too can experience wholeness in the Lord.
Determine who's speaking to you
There are two voices that speak to the sheep, the butcher and the shepherd. Many of us have grown used to only hearing the harsh words of a taskmaster, demanding obedience and threatening punishment. We must learn that this is not the voice of our Lord, our shepherd. Even though Jesus often corrects us and even drives us into situations we don't want to go, it will always be out of love. The spirit will always build you up, tell you the truth, and will never tempt you to act independently from God. We must tune our ears to His voice through spending lots and lots of time with Him.
The result of the devil's instruction will always be to rely on something outside of dependence on the Lord. Remembering that the soul in dependence on the Lord is Satan's greatest enemy, he will do whatever he can whenever he can to prevent this from happening. So whatever it takes, distraction, deception, or attempting to mimic an angel of light, the enemy will attempt to draw us into using our own strength, resources of our mind, will or emotions to meet our needs or even accomplish what we believe God has called us to do.
Set your mind
The devil is not overcome by well-reasoned logic or rhetoric. What does convince him to obey is the renewed mind, thinking and acting on the thoughts of the risen Lord working through the healed, creative mind of a saint.
Ask the Lord to put your mind on a short leash, then recognize and respond as He begins to reveal to you what you are thinking. As He does this, you may find several sources for your thoughts that are not from the Lord: your flesh patterns, the world system and the enemy all affect your thoughts. Over time, as you diligently value the Lord's instruction, you will be able to distinguish the sources of your thoughts, and respond and deal with them accordingly. Just because you're thinking a thought doesn't mean it's your thought, that it's true, or that you need to do something with it (act on it). The Lord is faithful to teach you how to bring your thoughts into alignment with truth. Some will find this easy to learn, for others it may be difficult, depending on your temperament, how long your mind has been thinking whatever it wants to, and what the Lord is doing in your life right now. Whatever the circumstance, be confident that the Lord has you right where He wants you, and He is faithful to give you a sound mind and clear thoughts.
Release your emotions
The devil is not impacted by your passion or depth of concern or feeling. What does provoke fear in him, is the saint who has had his emotions healed, freed and brought into submission to the spirit of a saint submitted to God.
Some of us need to rein in and bring our emotions into line with our spirit, and keep them from being the driving force and motivation in our lives. Others need to learn how to express our emotions, acknowledging their value and learning to enjoy and share them appropriately. Either way, the Lord wants us so focused on Him that regardless of what we may be feeling His purposes and our dependence are not interfered with. This is something that takes more than head knowledge, it takes practice. We are all prone to want to avoid emotionally difficult situations, but the Lord wants us to actually embrace them as learning opportunities to be able to hear and respond to His voice, leading and direction regardless of what is going on in our emotions. Much like a military officer in a combat situation or an emergency worker during a crisis, we need our training to kick in under stress, regardless of what our emotions are telling us to do. When the going gets tough, we need to be able to hear Him the most. As we embrace this concept the Lord will put us in situations where we will have the opportunity to choose to react our usual way, or to control our emotions, focusing our attention on Him.
Discipline your will
The devil is not impressed with the strength of your will or your self-discipline. The weapon that he is afraid of is the will that is submitted to the spirit of a saint living in dependence on the Lord.
As we grow in dependence on the Lord we will begin to see the decisions and choices we make from a different perspective—the Lord's. Most of us have learned to make decisions for ourselves based on judgment that has been affected by our temperament, history, family expectations, flesh, and other outside influences. Many of us do not even know what we want out of life, what we want to accomplish, or how to set goals and achieve them. As we experience freedom we learn what our soulical desires are, then learn to submit them to the Lord. We can't submit our will to the Lord, so that His will can be done, until we fully acknowledge and even honor our own wants and desires. Over time the Lord will bring our desires and choices into line with His, though there will also be times when He will ask us to do something completely contrary to our temperament, our abilities and even our desires. His purpose is that we have a free, whole will that does not control us, but is controlled by our spirit, then joined to the Lord's will fully intact. This is the will that overcomes Satan; we choose to go to battle with him, though it would be easier, safer, less risky to let someone else do it, ignore him, put it off or choose another route. But as we focus on the Lord, His direction and choices for us will gain and keep our attention and devotion.
...to be continued
dianne@grace2you.com
www.grace2you.com
(c)2003-7 diannethomas. dianne@grace2you.com. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.
dianne@grace2you.com
Our Weapons to Overcome
Preparing for Battle:
Recognition of our identity
Experiencing a dependent relationship with Christ is the foundation for overcoming the enemy. The more fully we understand who we are in Him, who He is in us, and then join Him in His purposes in our lives and in this earth the more fully we are engaged in His activities, one of which is to destroy the works of the evil one. Learning how to use our weapons is not only for our sake, to protect ourselves and overcome the enemy in our lives, but also to be available to the Lord to set others free, so they too can experience wholeness in the Lord.
Determine who's speaking to you
There are two voices that speak to the sheep, the butcher and the shepherd. Many of us have grown used to only hearing the harsh words of a taskmaster, demanding obedience and threatening punishment. We must learn that this is not the voice of our Lord, our shepherd. Even though Jesus often corrects us and even drives us into situations we don't want to go, it will always be out of love. The spirit will always build you up, tell you the truth, and will never tempt you to act independently from God. We must tune our ears to His voice through spending lots and lots of time with Him.
The result of the devil's instruction will always be to rely on something outside of dependence on the Lord. Remembering that the soul in dependence on the Lord is Satan's greatest enemy, he will do whatever he can whenever he can to prevent this from happening. So whatever it takes, distraction, deception, or attempting to mimic an angel of light, the enemy will attempt to draw us into using our own strength, resources of our mind, will or emotions to meet our needs or even accomplish what we believe God has called us to do.
Set your mind
The devil is not overcome by well-reasoned logic or rhetoric. What does convince him to obey is the renewed mind, thinking and acting on the thoughts of the risen Lord working through the healed, creative mind of a saint.
Ask the Lord to put your mind on a short leash, then recognize and respond as He begins to reveal to you what you are thinking. As He does this, you may find several sources for your thoughts that are not from the Lord: your flesh patterns, the world system and the enemy all affect your thoughts. Over time, as you diligently value the Lord's instruction, you will be able to distinguish the sources of your thoughts, and respond and deal with them accordingly. Just because you're thinking a thought doesn't mean it's your thought, that it's true, or that you need to do something with it (act on it). The Lord is faithful to teach you how to bring your thoughts into alignment with truth. Some will find this easy to learn, for others it may be difficult, depending on your temperament, how long your mind has been thinking whatever it wants to, and what the Lord is doing in your life right now. Whatever the circumstance, be confident that the Lord has you right where He wants you, and He is faithful to give you a sound mind and clear thoughts.
Release your emotions
The devil is not impacted by your passion or depth of concern or feeling. What does provoke fear in him, is the saint who has had his emotions healed, freed and brought into submission to the spirit of a saint submitted to God.
Some of us need to rein in and bring our emotions into line with our spirit, and keep them from being the driving force and motivation in our lives. Others need to learn how to express our emotions, acknowledging their value and learning to enjoy and share them appropriately. Either way, the Lord wants us so focused on Him that regardless of what we may be feeling His purposes and our dependence are not interfered with. This is something that takes more than head knowledge, it takes practice. We are all prone to want to avoid emotionally difficult situations, but the Lord wants us to actually embrace them as learning opportunities to be able to hear and respond to His voice, leading and direction regardless of what is going on in our emotions. Much like a military officer in a combat situation or an emergency worker during a crisis, we need our training to kick in under stress, regardless of what our emotions are telling us to do. When the going gets tough, we need to be able to hear Him the most. As we embrace this concept the Lord will put us in situations where we will have the opportunity to choose to react our usual way, or to control our emotions, focusing our attention on Him.
Discipline your will
The devil is not impressed with the strength of your will or your self-discipline. The weapon that he is afraid of is the will that is submitted to the spirit of a saint living in dependence on the Lord.
As we grow in dependence on the Lord we will begin to see the decisions and choices we make from a different perspective—the Lord's. Most of us have learned to make decisions for ourselves based on judgment that has been affected by our temperament, history, family expectations, flesh, and other outside influences. Many of us do not even know what we want out of life, what we want to accomplish, or how to set goals and achieve them. As we experience freedom we learn what our soulical desires are, then learn to submit them to the Lord. We can't submit our will to the Lord, so that His will can be done, until we fully acknowledge and even honor our own wants and desires. Over time the Lord will bring our desires and choices into line with His, though there will also be times when He will ask us to do something completely contrary to our temperament, our abilities and even our desires. His purpose is that we have a free, whole will that does not control us, but is controlled by our spirit, then joined to the Lord's will fully intact. This is the will that overcomes Satan; we choose to go to battle with him, though it would be easier, safer, less risky to let someone else do it, ignore him, put it off or choose another route. But as we focus on the Lord, His direction and choices for us will gain and keep our attention and devotion.
...to be continued
dianne@grace2you.com
www.grace2you.com
(c)2003-7 diannethomas. dianne@grace2you.com. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.
Psalm 103:3-5
3Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
3Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
