I wanted to share some thoughts from an article written by Sharon Jaynes from “Girlfriends in God”. Her article is applicable to life as we know it today. Jaynes writes of her husband who mutes certain television commercials which leaves her with the “jingle” in her head the rest of the evening. Though she teases him for doing so, he has the right idea. We shouldn’t allow some things to enter our minds, especially when it comes to the enemy who tries to make us believe untruth.
She begins her article with truth from God’s Word. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of his dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)
We are in a spiritual battle for our minds and while we often think difficult people or irritating circumstances are the source of our problems, Paul tells us to look past the obvious and go to the root cause. He reminds us, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, authorities, against the powers of the dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” As long as we think our foe is a mere mortal, the enemy is sitting pretty. But we know the enemy’s true identity, right?
This spiritual battle is described as a “struggle”. It literally means “wrestling or hand-to-hand” combat. In other places in the New Testament, Paul refers to the spiritual battle we face every day. He told Timothy to “fight the good fight of the faith”. (1 Timothy 6:12) He encourages Timothy to endure hardship as a “good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3)
Jesus won the victory over sin and death when He died on the cross and rose again. Satan was defeated. However, until we leave this earth and the presence of sin, we continue to fight against the power of the enemy.
This warfare is nothing to fear. God has given us sufficient armor to combat the enemy’s schemes. We have the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, the power of Jesus shed blood over us, and the power of God’s Word under our feet.
We cannot act differently than we believe. That is why it is so important to hit the mute button and reject the lie as soon as it comes.
So the next time the enemy whispers a lie such as “you can’t do anything right, you’re a poor excuse of a Christian, or you don’t have what it takes”, hit the mute button. Don’t let that jingle get stuck in your head. You don’t want what the devil is selling. Its not worth listening to.
Sharon Jaynes has the right idea about the enemy and our plan of defense. It begins with hitting the mute button and not listening to the enemy’s lie. Don’t buy what he’s selling, it’s garbage. God would not have sent His Son to die on the cross, then forsake those He died for. He longs for us to lean into Him when times are tough. That’s His promise.