BATTLEFIELD

Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life – Proverbs 4:23

We have meditated on the reality of spiritual battles, wars and warfare. Another vital issue relates to the BATTLEFIELD. Where is the battle arena? Your Heart is the theatre of War! (Pro.4:23). In order to understand this better however, we need further insight into this warfare. There is no ceasefire in this war; not even a lull. Even if you are not directly under enemy fire, you are still on the battlefield. Every human being and believer in particular, is a threat to the enemy, irrespective of whether you attack him or not! Although the Lord Jesus Christ has won the victory for us upon the cross and by the empty tomb, the battle that has been waged since before the foundation of the world still rages; will escalate as the devil sees his time growing slimmer; and will continue until he is thrown into hell’s fires (Rev.20:9-10).

Your Heart or MIND is the battlefield, where victory is won or lost: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled” (2Cor.10:4-6). The war occurs mainly in the realm of arguments, imaginations, ideas, knowledge, and thoughts. All of these originate in the arena of the mind. It is not a battle that is fought on a physical plane at all. Indeed, Satan has no authority to attack the believer in the natural or external world without God’s or the believer’s permission (Job 1:8-12; 2:3-6). Except by divine permission, he is not at liberty to affect your external circumstances, but he can attack your mind with anger, anxiety, doubt, fear or unbelief. If he can get you to doubt or worry, then he can weaken your effectiveness.

The devil’s chief target is the mind, because the most effective way to influence behaviour is to influence thinking, feeling, and the will – the Intellect, emotions, and decisions. Satan is more interested in your mind than your money. Many times, it is the mistakes in the believer’s mind that become weapons in Satan’s hands. We often inadvertently supply him with ready weapons to use against us! Such errors originate in the mind, and if left unchecked become established strongholds. A stronghold is anything that exalts itself in our minds, pretending to be bigger or more powerful than God. These fortresses are built on imaginations and thoughts, such as addictions, superstitious beliefs, negative or wrong thoughts, and despair or depression over a loss. They can consume our emotions, cause us to become overwhelmed, and sap our mental strength. Whatever is able to control human minds would eventually control the spirits, tongues, and finally the total beings.

The devil has not changed his basic strategy. What he used against Eve – error, doubt, greed, and lust – are still his recurring tools (Gen.3:1-8). These are: “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life”! (1Jh.2:16). The antidote against satanic strongholds is to Change Your Mind (Rom.12:2). You need mind renewal: free your mind from ‘mental bondages’ and get it renewed to God’s truth and ways of thinking. The No.1 roadblock to success is the set of barriers you set up in your own mind. Stop blaming others for your plight. To live differently; think differently! If you dislike your present situation, change your thinking. For God to change a man He doesn’t always take the man out of the situation; He takes the situation out of the man! When God takes the mentality of poverty out of your mind, you are bound to prosper.

To win this war against Satan, you need to take control of your thought life – “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”  You take those thoughts captive with the Word of God that addresses them. When you identify and attack a stronghold in your life find the truth that confronts it. Find out what God says about it. Then attack and destroy it.