Choose Your Weapon!

Several years into my faith journey, I had lost everything that was dear to me and almost everything that I had worked 12 years to achieve.  An economic downturn forced the closure of my business.  An unwanted divorce ended my marriage and separated me from my children.  Outstanding business loans and personal debt would take years to erase.  I felt defeated, confused, and terribly close to turning my back on God.    

Satan was bombarding my mind with thoughts of failure, insecurity, doubt, rejection, and suggesting I give up on life. (You’ll never marry again, your children don’t love you, you’ll never recover financially, God has given up on you, why don’t you just disappear – nobody will care.)  Stubbornly, I kept reading the Bible, desperately searching for answers. 

Then one day, as only God can do, he allowed one verse of scripture to jump off the page and directly into my heart.  It was as if I had been given new sight and could instantly identify Satan’s strategy to devour me.  Satan had already stolen from me and was now trying to kill my ambition to live and destroy my relationship with God the Father, his Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.  This one verse restored my faith and my will to fight the good fight.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18)

The apostle Paul was writing to the collective church body in Rome, and in doing so used all plural pronouns.  God inspired me to make this passage personal and so this became my victory verse.

I consider that my present suffering is not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in me!

You see, I was not fighting against the temptation to sin which leads to failure.  I had already failed and the battle in my mind was against blame, accusation, condemnation, and lies about what the future held.  But the word of God, penned by the apostle Paul, became a beacon of hope for me. 

I did not know at the time what glory might be revealed in me, but I knew God had a plan for my life, and I knew I could stand firm in that truth and boldly proclaim the promises of Almighty God!  My mind had become the battlefield and God’s word became my primary weapon.  Every time a thought of condemnation would come into my mind that was contrary to the will of God, I WOULD SPEAK OUT LOUD; “I consider that my present suffering is not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in me”!

To paraphrase, this was my way of telling Satan; “You may think your fiery arrows and constant mental barrage have me on the verge of defeat, but I know this is temporary and somehow meant for my good.  God is my rock and my shield and holds promise for my future.  NOW, IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, GET OUT OF MY HEAD AND LEAVE ME ALONE”!!  This was the turning point in my spiritual battle.  This was the beginning of an eventual and unavoidable victory celebration.  I knew I could win, and God had provided the battle plan.

I also realized that I was not the only one fighting this battle.  Satan’s schemes are deliberate, patient, and well thought out plans to defeat all mankind.  They can manifest through his direct influence, the involvement of his fallen angels (unclean/impure spirits), or the persuasion of men and women (the world) doing his bidding.  However, if God had shared this success principle with me, then He could provide a victory verse for any Christian burdened by Satan’s lies.

I discovered further confirmation of this fact in Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth.  During his earthly ministry, Paul was constantly maligned, threatened, beaten, imprisoned, and exiled.  His faith journey was one of deep contrast between a harsh, critical reality and the joy of seeing lives transformed by sharing the gospel message.

At one point, suffering under the frailty of the human condition, Paul wrote, “I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9)

Even though Paul suffered from physical abuse and exhaustion at times, scripture does not record him as having a permanent physical disability.  The ‘thorn’ may not represent a physical infirmity at all.   I believe this messenger of Satan was constantly tormenting his mind with thoughts and reminders of his strong religious beliefs as a Pharisee and his previous persecution of Christ followers.  The constant barrage was meant to imply hypocrisy on Paul’s part and disqualify him from the mission God gave him. 

Paul pleaded with God to restraint this spiritual assault, but in response, God provided a confident reminder.  His grace was sufficient to cover Paul’s previous sins and God’s power was sufficient to overcome Satan’s attack, even though Paul had grown weary of the struggle.  

But more importantly, God provided a declaration of victory over the current and all future demonic assaults.  In my mind, I can imagine Paul may have been inspired of God, under the authority of Jesus Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, to personalize God’s message in rebuke of the enemy’s constant condemnation.  ‘Christ’s grace is sufficient for me, for His power is made perfect in my weakness.’  NOW, IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, GET OUT OF MY HEAD AND LEAVE ME ALONE”!! 

God provided a victory verse for Paul.  This passage, and the example Jesus set forth in the desert, served as my inspiration to do the same.  It was and is the word of God that will defeat the temptation and condemnation from the enemy.  And just as God provided the path to victory for me, He will do the same for you.

How to discover your victory verse.

‘Take Captive Every Thought’ was written to expose the schemes of the devil and to empower you to defeat his lies and evil intent.  Chapter 12 is titled: Choose Your Weapon.  What is shared in that chapter is not meant to be an exhaustive list of all the possible ways that the enemy can attack our minds, nor could we ever attempt to confine scripture and the abundance of truth that God has provided to defeat the lies of the enemy.

The goal in chapter twelve is to enlighten hearts and minds by providing a pathway to understand how truth overcomes those lies, and how the light of the gospel overcomes the powers of darkness.  Just as I was inspired to personalize scripture, the illustrations below might inspire you to do the same. 

I’ve illustrated five of the most common areas of demonic influence. My hope is that these few examples might provide a starting point if you have not previously considered employing the power of personalizing scripture to ward off the lies of the enemy.

FEAR

I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.  So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:9-10)

Personalized:  I am God’s servant; He has chosen me and has not rejected me.  So, I will not fear, for God is with me.  He will strengthen me and help me; He will uphold me with His righteous right hand.

DESPAIR

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 3 to bestow on them the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. (Isaiah 61: 1, 3)

Personalized:  The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, and I will not despair, because the Lord has anointed me with the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

DEPRESSION / UNHAPPINESS

I will exalt you, Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.  Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.  You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead; you spared me from going down to the pit. (Psalm 30:1-3)

Personalized:  I exalt you, Lord, for you lift me out of the depths and will not let my enemies gloat over me.  I call on you Father God for help, and you restore me.  You, Lord, bring me up from the realm of the dead; you spare me from depression and unhappiness.

ADDICTION

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.  It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age. (Titus 2:11-12)

Personalized:  For the grace of God has appeared to me and granted me salvation.  He has taught me to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions like addition, and to live a self-controlled, upright, and godly life.

SEXUAL IMMORALITY

For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you should abstain from sexual immorality. (1 Thessalonians 4:3) 

Personalized:  I have been sanctified by my faith in Jesus Christ.  Therefore, I will abstain from any and all sexual immorality, for this is the will of God for my life.

As you read what God has graciously provided, I encourage you to allow the Holy Spirit to work within you and transform the truth of scripture into a double-edged sword powerful and effective for defeating Satan’s schemes.   Take the necessary action to find and convert the word of God into your personal victory statement.

1.     Remember the example Jesus set for us.  Satan’s lies are to be rebuked with scripture. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

2.     Your response to Satan’s attack is to be spoken out loud.  Satan is not omniscient – he cannot read your mind and does not know your thoughts.  God’s word, spoken out loud with your confident voice will rebuke the enemy.

3.     “Dealing with Satan is not a power encounter; it’s a truth encounter.  When you expose Satan’s lie with God’s truth, his power is broken.  Satan’s lie cannot withstand the truth any more than darkness of night can withstand the light of the rising sun.” (Neil Anderson - Freedom in Christ Ministries)

Of course, when you are engaged in spiritual warfare, it is in the relentless pursuit of scripture that God allows his Spirit to speak truth into your life and deliver a word appropriate to the situation.  God’s Word is your weapon.  It is the sword of the Spirit (Ephesian 6:17).  If your heart truly seeks God’s wisdom, you will find the answer in His word.

But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 4:29)

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