The Mind Is the Battlefield

From this Scripture we see that we are in a war.A careful study of this verse informs us that our warfare is not with other human beings but with the devil and his demons.Our enemy,Satan,attempts to defeat us with strategy and deceit,through well-laid plans and deliberate deception. The devil is a liar.Jesus called him...the father of lies and of all that is false (John 8:44)He lies to you and me. He tells us things about ourselves, about other people and about circumstances that are just not true.He does not,however,tell us the entire lie all at one time. He begins by bombarding our mind with a cleverly devised pattern of little nagging thoughts,suspicions,doubts,fears,wonderings,reasonings and theories.He moves slowly and cautiously (after all,well-laid plans take time).Remember,he has a strategy for his warfare.He has stuied us for a long time. He knows what we like and what we don't like.He knows our insecurities,our weaknesses and our fears.He knows what bothers us most. He is willing to invest any amount of time it takes to defeat us.One of the devil's strong points is patience. TEARING DOWN STRONGHOLDS For the weapons of our warfare are not physical[weapons of flesh and blood],but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds. [Inasmuch as we]refute arguments and theories and resaonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true]knowledge of God;and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah,the Anointed One). 2 Corinthians 10:4,5 Through careful strategy and cunning deceit,Satan attempts to set up "strongholds"in our mind.A stronghold is an area in which we are held in bondage(in prison)due to a certain way of thinking. In this passage,the Apostle Paul tells us that we have the weapons we need to overcome Satan's strongholds.We will learn more about these weapons later,but right now,please notice that once again we see that we are engaged in warfare, spiritual warfare. Verse 5 shows us clearly the location of the battlefield on which this warfare is waged. The Amplified Bible translation of this verse says that we are to take these weapons and refute arguments.The devil argues with us;he offers us theories and reasonings.All of this activity goes on in the mind. The mind is the battlefield. Thus,so far we have seen that: 1.We are engaged in a war. 2.Our enemy is Satan. 3.The mind is the battlefield. 4.The devil works diligently to set up strongholds in our mind. 5.He does it through strategy and deceit(through well-laid plans and deliberate deceotion). 6.He is in no hurry;he takes his time to work out his plan. Let's examine his plan more clearly through a parable. MARY"S SIDE Mary and her husband,John,are not enjoying a happy marriage.There is strife between them all the time.They are both angry,bitter and resentful.They have two children who are being affected by the problems in the home.The strife is showing up in their school work and behavior.One of the children is having stomach problems caused by nerves. Mary's problemis that she doesn't know how to let John be the head of their home.She is bossy- she wants to make all the decisions,handle the finances and discipline the children.She wants to work so she will have her "own" money. She is independent,loud,demanding and an nag. About now you may be thinking,"I've got her answer. She needs to know Jesus." She does know Him!Mary received Jesus as her Savior five years ago-three years after she and John were married. "Do you mean there hasn't been a change in Mary since receiving Jesus as Savior?" Yes, there has been change.She believes she is going to heaven even though her bad behavior causes her to feel constant condemnation.She has hope now. Before she met Jesus,she was miserable and hopeless;now she is just miserable. Mary knows that her attitude is wrong.She wants to change.She has received counseling from two people,and she gets in almost every prayer line asking for victory over anger,rebellion,unforgiveness,resentment and bitterness.Why hasn't she seen more improvement? The answer is found in Romans12:2:Do not be conformed to this world(this age),[fashioned after and adapted to its external,superficial customs],but be transformed(changed)by the [entire]renewal of your mind [by its new ideas and its new attitude],so that you may prove[for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God,even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]. Mary has strongholds in her mind. They have been there for years.She doesn't even understand how they got there.She knows she shouldn't be rebellious,bossy,nagging,etc.,but she doesn't know what to do to change her nature.It seems that she simply reacts in certain situations in an unseemly way because she can't control her actions. Mary can't control her actions because she doesn't control her thoughts. she doesn't control her thoughts because there are strongholds in her mind that the devil set up early in her life. Satan begins to initiate his well-laid plans and to sow his deliberate deception at a very young age.In Mary's case,her problems started long ago,in childhood. AS a child Mary had an extremely domineering father who often spanked her just because he was in a bad mood. If she made one wrong move,he would vent his anger on her.For years,she suffered helplessly as her father mistreated her and her mother. He was disrespectful in all his ways toward his wife and daughter. Mary's brother,however,could do no wrong.It seemed as if he was favored just because he was a boy. By the time she was sixteen,Mary had been brain-washed for years by Satan who had told her lies that went something like this: "Men really think they are something. They are all alike;you can't trust them. They will hurt you and take advantage of you.If you're a man,you've got it made in life.You can do anything you want. You can order people around,be the boss,treat people any way you please and nobody (especially not wives or daughers)can do anything about it." As a result,Mary's mind was resolved:"When I get away from here,nobody is ever going to push me around again!" Satan was already waging war on the battlefield of her mind.Play those thoughts over and over in your head a hundred thousand times or more over a period of ten years,and see if you're ready to get married and become a sweet,submissive,adoring wife.Even if by some miracle you should want to be,you won't know how.This is the kind of mess in which Mary finds herself today.What can she do? What can any of us do in such a situation?