I’m finally
reading a book that’s been sitting by my bedside for a few weeks, Battlefield of the Mind, by Joyce Meyer
– because I so desperately need it. As human beings, our weaknesses vary so
massively. There’s a very useful analogy my sister gave to illustrate this
point: ‘I could sit, sleep and eat for a week in the alcohol aisle of a
supermarket, and not feel the slightest urge to touch a single bottle.’ Because
alcohol is not her weakness. Now, something else like going for weeks without
watching one episode of Greys Anatomy
would be much more of a challenge for her.
And the devil
knows this well. He knows exactly where you’re most fallible. And every single
day, he’s looking for a way to cause you to trip up, using the things that
affect you most deeply.
For me, that thing
is my thinking. My mind can be a total warzone. I struggle with all sorts of
emotions, overthinking, worry and feelings of security. One day, my major
battle could be feeling like a crappy Christian who isn’t ‘up to scratch’;
another, I could spend the entire day exasperatedly trying to let go of something
tiny someone did that offended me. It’s my struggle. It’s where the devil knows
he can get to me most.
But I read two
things last week in Battlefield of the
Mind, which changed the way I think about my struggle.
1.
I have to actively counteract
my negative thinking with positive ones. Unpleasant thoughts about myself, my
life or others will always come, but it’s MY choice to entertain them or
REPLACE them with God-centred thinking. E.g. I may be feeling lost right now,
but God has my back, has always had everything under control, and has never
needed my help anyway to bring forth great things.
2.
Freedom from my thinking
patterns will not happen overnight, so there’s no need to burden myself with
negative thoughts about my negative
thinking! I WILL overcome it with God’s help and a bucket load of persistence, but
it’s going to be one small victory after another. And that’s fine.
What’s your
struggle? Is it seeking satisfaction from other people? Drugs? Constantly
comparing yourself to others? Casual sex? Feeling like you’ll never be good
enough? Do you feel like there’s no point even trying to overcome it because you’ve been at it for so long, and
nothing has changed? I want you to know firstly that you really can’t do it on
your own. Attempting to change yourself will only leave you frustrated. God
wants you to realise that – and let
Him get involved! Only He can make alterations to His own creation.
Secondly, and most
importantly, you have never gone too far, too deep or too long for God to step
in and transform you. You have to trust that He has the ability – and the
desire – to help you. God doesn’t want to see you in bondage, or enjoy watching
you suffer; that’s why He sent Jesus to free you – not just from death, but
from whatever the devil wants to use to defeat you.
God loves you.
Kunmi x
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