The Battle for the Christian's Heart Begins in The Mind

While the battle for the Christian’s heart begins with the spiritual warfare of the mind, the casualties of war are felt throughout the body. Lost peace, patience, trust, and desire leave behind a war zone ravished by grief, hopelessness, and despair.

In his attempts to get us to doubt God, the enemy flickers images of past failures, discouraging us so we focus on our shortcomings rather than the finished work of Christ. His sole desire is to defeat us so we no longer have the desire to do the good work God planned for us long ago (Ephesians 2:10).

Satan loves to use doubt, discontentment, dismay, distractions or deters to derail us. He wants us to be unhappy and discontent with life so that we are distracted from the purpose of our lives. Satan also uses these things to make you believe in your own limitations rather than our limitless Maker.

I have watched his master plot unfold in my life and the lives of loved ones enough to see that patterns do exist. Although he is crafty, Scripture tells us in Ecclesiastes 1:9; there is nothing new under the sun, so his ways are predictable.

If we can recognize the patterns, we can beat him.

We must recognize and acknowledge that his primary offense is against our mind, so it’s in this area where he attacks most aggressively. That means instead of marching forward in confidence towards a goal or assignment for God; we hesitate because the enemy has planted seeds of doubt about God, what He thinks of us, or His purpose for our lives. Once the seed of doubt is planted, it grows like a weed, quickly choking out any fruit the enemy has not already destroyed. These are 5 main ways Satan attacks your mind in an attempt to derail you from your destiny as children of God. This is spiritual warfare of the mind.

1 | DOUBT IS THE PRIMARY TACTIC OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE IN THE MIND

The enemy’s number one tactic to sway God’s children is confusion. If he can persuade us to discredit God’s Word, distrust His goodness, and waver in our faith, he is well on his way to winning. Doubt leaves you teetering the fence of faith and vulnerable to the tug of temptation. In our day, Satan’s most effective tactic is as old as time and new at the same time: doubt.

Satan is crafty; he knows how you work and how to use God’s word. He knows what will incite your anger, make you act rashly, or provoke you to sin. He has his finger on the pulse of humanity and can use any weakness he finds in your life against you. Doubt whispers, “He doesn’t care about you.”

“Did God really say…” Genesis 3:1
“You will not surely die….” Genesis 3:4
“If you are the Son of God….” Matthew 4:3

The Bible tells us that we wrestle against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and wicked spirits in heavenly places. But our ultimate foe is Satan—the prince of the power of the air. He’s a master at deception! Worse still, he keeps trying to get you to believe lies and give up!

Never doubt the plan, character, or promises of God!

2 | DISCONTENTMENT BATTLES THE BELIEVER’S MIND

By entertaining all God has “NOT” given you and all He is keeping from you, the Seducer stirs up dissatisfaction. Most often, dissatisfaction leads to comparison, complaining, and conceit. By enticing Eve with the one thing she could not have, Satan could undermine her contentment and alter the world for all time. He tried to set up God as an unjust and unfair Father—”God keeps good things from you!” The devil presented God as something other than He really is.

Or, what about the nation of Israel? As they traveled throughout the desert, a constant complaining spirit settled as they longed to return to what was “better” in Egypt. It ended up costing them 40 years in the desert. Slowly, discontentment opens the door for an ungrateful, rebellious heart towards God, and the consequences follow.

When we allow our ancient foe to lead us down a path of unfulfilled desires, we become Eve who took that first bite, or like Israel, pouting and pleading with God to change His plans rather than adjusting our own expectations. We must learn to recognize and defeat this tactic of spiritual warfare in the mind.

Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment… 1 Timothy 6:6

What to do when you’re disappointed with God?

3 | DISMAY DROWNS HOPE

Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

Devour – wear out, drain, annihilate, swallow, consume, and deplete.

Wow, what a list! What better way to defeat you than by misdirecting your attention to your problem and the lack of your ability rather than God’s insurmountable abilities, the problem rather than the Problem Solver.

Wave after wave of discouragement ambush your mind, failure sets in, and you give up. With your guard down, he is able to pounce on you and begin his assault.

Resist every fearful thought (doubt, worry, anxiety) that suggests that God has abandoned you. He hasn’t; He is there waiting for you to run to Him and knock on His door with a humble

If you are currently wrestling with discouragement, don’t get caught in the trap of trying to figure out why it is happening. Rather, align yourself with Him and go to war against the enemy. He alone can take your discouragement away and replace it with the strength to endure. Allow the joy of the Lord to become your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

Be sure to read this series on infusing hope and surviving seasons of suffering.

Your ancient foe whispers, “You can’t weather the storm.” Our Victorious Warrior roars, “I walk on the storm.”

4 | DISTRACTIONS DERAIL DESTINATIONS

Standing between the waves of the storm and the Wave Whisperer, Peter became distracted by the wind and began to sink. Distractions are all around us. In our current world, they have become weaponry Satan uses as spiritual warfare against the mind. Within seconds of waking, they were drawn away to the call of busyness. We cram our calendars full of to-do lists and leave little to no margin for divine interruptions. This is a dangerous place because, unlike Peter, our distractions may not be as obvious as a raging storm but certainly have the weight to make us sink, including good things.

We must not confuse good works with God’s work or allow the strongholds of time to distract us from Spirit-free living. As a result, we can walk in faith and not by sight.

Like Peter, daily “walk on water” with confidence knowing you have Christ to hold onto your hand!

If the devil can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy. – Adrian Rogers

5 | SPIRITUAL WARFARE OF DELAY DESTROYS DESTINIES

While the gates of Hades cannot overcome the Church (Mattew 16:18), the enemy will most certainly do everything within his power to delay or deter the movement and growth of His church. In 1 Thessalonians 2:18, Paul says, “For we wanted to come to you again and again – but Satan stopped us.”

Time is the most precious resource available to us. The enemy interrupts your desire to do something God has already asked you to do. It’s planted with a little seed that starts with I’ll do it tomorrow and ends with a ceaseless wait. James declares in 4:14 life is a mist, here for but a moment, so let’s make time count for eternity. Don’t put off something for tomorrow that should have been done yesterday.

The enemy does not like it when God’s people are gathered together in one place with one unified mind working toward one goal – making Christ known through our witness. As a result of this passage, I don’t think it would be amiss to say that delaying tactics are strictly diabolical in nature.

I have seen many people victimized by delay tactics that prevent them from doing what God has called them to do. It is time for Christians to wake up and realize that the enemy is actively using these tactics to destroy destinies.

Procrastination is the thief of time. – Edward Young

WHAT TO DO WHEN THE ENEMY ATTACKS WITH SPIRITUAL WARFARE IN YOUR MIND

So how do we combat such an assault? We must recognize the problem! The false power of Satan is a lie, but it still takes away from the peace and joy that we have when we are living in obedience to Christ. When you find yourself struggling with these things, remember this verse: Hebrews 12:1 says, “Let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely; let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Here are some additional ways to fight back when the enemy attacks.

HOW IS THE ENEMY ATTACKING YOU?

Doubt and distraction kept Peter from fully walking on water. How have these two devices kept you from stepping out of the boat to “walk on water” with Him?
What areas of doubt cause you to stumble? Be specific.
Are there certain forms of discontentment you struggle with? Material things, spiritual gifts, your current season, the conceit mentality of I deserve this, etc.
This list is far from complete. Do you notice other ways the enemy attempts to plot against your life? Really dig in here. You are creating a battle plan.
Have you found yourself procrastinating in an area the Lord has asked you to move forward in? What do you or loved ones stand to lose from the delay?
How can you “prepare your mind for battle”?

If you want to be free from doubt, discontentment, dismay, or distractions, then take up your cross daily and allow Jesus Christ to lead through these battles for you! As 1 Peter 1:13 says, “prepare your minds for action (battle).”

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