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Do you sometimes feel like you are a powerless victim of the negative thoughts and emotions you experience?
In my last two posts, “Where Thoughts Come From,” and “What to Do with Rogue Thoughts,” we have been talking about the importance of managing our thought lives.
We’ve talked about the truth that the thoughts believers in Christ experience are either coming from us—our new heart—or outside our new heart.
The thoughts that come from our new heart—our eternal spiritual union with Christ—will always be good and filled with life.
And the thoughts that come at us from the outside are either based in truth or lies, depending on their original source.
Satan is the originator of all lies.
He can influence us through injecting lies into our minds.
And He often works through the flesh—those old, unrenewed habit patterns in the brain which interfere with our dependence on Christ’s Spirit within us.
Lies can also come at us through our physical senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell.
Now, even though Satan has no access to us—he cannot touch us spiritually—he has limited access to our thought lives in this fallen world.
And because of his limited access, we can sometimes feel like victims of the negative thoughts and corresponding emotions we experience.
Why don’t you grab a cup of your favorite beverage and sit back and listen to these enlightening words from you Beloved concerning the truth about your part in this battle going on in your thought life:
“My beloved, you are beginning to enjoy the freedom that comes from understanding that the unrighteous, unholy thoughts (lies) you hear in your mind do not originate with you, but with Satan, the father of all lies.”
“Every untruth, every deception, ultimately finds its genesis in him.”
“Although Satan has absolutely no access to you (you are safely sealed in Me forever), I have given him limited access to your thought life.”
“And if you are ignorant of his schemes, he can wreak havoc in your mind, influencing you to feel like a victim of the thoughts you experience.”
“Your sole responsibility is to take every rogue thought captive, but that doesn’t mean it is always easy to do.”
“Your enemy is cunning.”
“The fact that you cannot see Satan inject the unrighteous, unholy thoughts gives him an advantage.”
“And when you accept (own and believe) these rogue thoughts, you will experience the unrighteous, unholy feelings that accompany them.”
“Feelings, whether good or bad, are strong motivators.”
“The way you think influences the way you feel, and the way you feel influences the way you act.”
“It all starts with thoughts.”
If you have been feeling and acting in ways contrary to your pure, righteous, and holy identity in Me, then that means you have failed to capture the rogue thoughts (lies) provoking this unrighteous, unholy cycle of behavior.”
“If you want to enjoy the peaceful state of mind that I designed you to experience, you have to take control of your thought life by rejecting the lies you are believing and replacing them with My truth.”
“You are not a powerless victim of the lies injected by Satan. Instead, you are a powerful victor through My Spirit of truth who indwells you.”
“Now believe Me and act like the victor you already are!”
Inspired by Galatians 5:1; John 8:44; Revelation 12:9; 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30; Luke 22:31; 2 Corinthians 2:11; Song of Songs 2:15; 2 Corinthians 10:3–5; Ephesians 6:10–18; Genesis 3:1–5; John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 11:3, 14; 1 Peter 5:8; Psalm 29:11; Isaiah 26:3; 55:12; John 14:27; 16:33; Romans 8:6; 14:17–19; 15:13; 1 Corinthians 14:33; Philippians 4:7; Colossians 3:15; 2 Thessalonians 3:16; Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 4:8; Hebrews 10:16; 1 John 3:19; Luke 4:1–13; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:9; 1 Corinthians 15:57; 1 John 5:4.
(The above words from your Beloved and Scripture List is an excerpt from my book, Fifty Days in His Pursuing Love Devotional.)
As believers, our responsibility is to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
In other words, “judge the thoughts we experience in light of the truth of our righteous identity in Christ.”
When we become aware of ungodly thoughts in our minds, we can take them captive by saying, “That thought did not come from me!”
“I refuse to own it, meditate on it, or act on it. I am the righteousness of God in Christ!”
This is simple, but it is not always easy to do because of the power of negative feelings.
Feelings, positive or negative, are powerful motivators.
The thoughts we accept influence our feelings and our feelings often drive our actions.
This cycle starts with thoughts.
So, you can see how important it is to be aware of what thoughts we are entertaining in our minds.
We cannot change our negative feelings directly, but we can learn which thoughts are provoking them and replace those thoughts with truth.
Again, it’s not always easy, but it is possible through Christ.
Three of my favorite Scriptures concerning the truth about our position in this battle going on in our thought lives:
“Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance.” (2 Thessalonians. 3:16)
“Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57)
“Whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” (1 John 5:4)
Believers in Christ are not powerless victims of the lies injected by Satan; we are powerful victors through Christ’s Spirit who lives in us continually.
He wants us to believe this and act like He’s telling the truth.
In my next post, “Your Enemy’s Most Effective Strategy,” I share what I believe is Satan’s most effective strategy in this battle going on in our thought life.
Watch my YouTube video where I share what’s in this post here.
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If you enjoyed this post, I invite you to check out all of my books and my video series based on my first devotional.
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