THE WAY WE THINK IS THE WAY WE FEEL

 

If you think that your mailman is trying to kill you, you will fear and protect yourself against him. Instead, if you have the highest regard for him and believe that he has the highest regard for you, you will feel very differently about him and even look forward to seeing him. This simple illustration demonstrates the power of our thoughts.

I noticed how I was thinking towards my wife when she said hurtful words to me, whether true or not. I found that I was running a tape in my mind: “She really hurt me; he really hurt me….” The more I ran this negative tape, the more negative I felt towards her. However, when I interrupted that tape and began telling myself, “How fortunate I am to have such a wonderful wife,” my feelings began to change towards her.

Our thought life matters. We are what we think! Consequently, we must be watchful regarding our thought life. Our thoughts can kill, even us. We can become obsessed with fears—of failure, rejection, physical harm, and an entire variety of things. These fears can make life unbearable and lead to self-loathing and even self-harm.

What can be done about improving our thought life? We can challenge our thoughts and refuse to succumb to them. But how? Such thoughts and their accompanying feelings hit us with such a strong sense of authority that we believe that they represent the truth, and the truth is hard to deny.

Consequently, if our mailman is trying to kill us, we want to take appropriate action. But what if he is not trying to kill us? We need to know the truth through evidence. However, other thoughts are much more difficult to challenge. For instance, what evidence can we find that we aren’t garbage and deserve to live. These are values, and scientific studies and other forms of evidence cannot tell us the value of humans or even ourselves.

Is there an authoritative objective measure by which we can resist the inner voices, which tell us that we are “worthless garbage?” Only a real and trustworthy measure can enable us to scream-down our thoughts and replace them with confidence that we are love, valued, and that our lives have meaning! Only God can be this standard or measuring stick. Even if we are beloved by our parents, their estimation is quite biased and therefore lacks the objectivity or truth content that we desperately require. Even scorpions love their offspring.

The Scriptures inform us that we have incalculable value in the eyes of our Savior:

·       “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16–17)

However, it is often difficult for us to believe this. We struggle with doubts and even the refusal to acknowledge the evidence. But there is also another obstacle that few in the West are willing to consider—evil spiritual beings who seek to take us captive through deception for their own evil satisfaction:

·     And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:3–4)

Why is there unbelief? Because Satan, the ruler of this world (1 John 5:19), has blinded those who have rejected God, the truth, and even the presence of evil. Nevertheless, the witches and wiccans have rediscovered the existence of evil spirits. However, they naively believe that they can control them with silly items such as salt and sage, which are unable to repel even a burglar. They also believe that they have the power and intuition to engage the spirit world without being controlled by them. However, they fail to realize that these spirits are far more powerful and knowledgeable than they. Consequently, they are readily deceived by demons and by those they have been taken captive by the devil:

·       For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness... (2 Corinthians 11:13–15)

Can we see through the deception? Rarely! We believe what we want. We’re impervious to any evidence. One male, who was dabbling in witchcraft, was smacked across the face by a demon. (Yes, they can intervene physically!) However, instead of questioning the existence of evil spirits, the male was thrilled with this painful encounter! He was clearly blinded to the evidence.

In contrast, the Bible repeatedly warns us against the deceptions of the devil and his demons:

·       Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 1(Peter 5:8–9)

How does he devour? Through deception. As our through can bring good outcomes, they can also bring evil outcomes. Our defense has to begin with God and His truths, the ultimate standard of truth and our protection:

·       Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

We also must make use of the resources He gives us:

·       Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11)

The armor of God begins with faith. Me must believe who He is what He has done for us—that He loves us and cares for us beyond all comprehension. This is but one aspect of our defenses:

·       In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. (Ephesians 6:16)

Without trusting God, we cannot stand against the lies of atan. The “flaming darts” are the ideas and temptations the devil inserts into our minds. I had taught at the New York School of the Bible for 30 years. For the first several years, I had been afflicted with self-doubt, and Satan knew my areas of vulnerability. He convinced me that I was a charlatan and didn’t deserve to be teaching Bible of all things. I was clearly lacking in every area of my life—faith, love, and peace. How then was I to stand up before the class as a role model of Christian principles! I felt so unworthy that, on many occasions, I was on the brink of calling my school to tell them to find someone else.

However, as I continued to study the Word of God, known also as the “Sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17), this absolute standard of truth convinced me that none are worthy, that I belong to God (Galatians 2:20) and that He uses the weaknesses of very imperfect people to perform His great plan (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). These truths freed me and enabled me to stand against the accusations of the devil.

When Satan would continue his attack, I would respond:

·       Satan, you are right! I am not worthy to teach. In fact, I am not worthy of anything good from Him, but He loves me and has called me to teach. Thank you for reminding me of His goodness and undying love towards me!

However, since then, the Accuser has shifted his attack. Now he seeks to disqualify me in another way. He is able to sync his voice with my own so that the negative messages I feed myself are blended and reinforced with his own:

·       I am a Christian failure. I am self-centered, self-obsessed, worried about a thousand things, anxious, and cannot gain victory over these weaknesses as can others. I am doomed by my failures to remain a third-rate Christian. Besides, I am an old man in decline.

However, the Word of God again came crashing down upon these lies, these violations of my Lord’s Scriptures! I found that I needed to strenuously come against these lies with the truth:

·       If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:31–32)

Our Lord has even promised to make us fruitful even in our old age (Isaiah 46:4)! I cried out the promises of God, vowing to believe His Word instead of my fear and the devil’s deceptions. They had become so powerful that I had wanted the Lord to take me home to be with Him—right now! But I also recalled the many ways He has delivered me and re-committed to trusting Him once again to my great relief:

·       And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” (Revelation 12:11–12)

The devil has come to kill and destroy and will not relent. Even though “he knows his time is short,” he will not repent. His own evil has taken him captive. He has a passion for evil alone. However, with our Lord’s truth and oversight, we can resist the devil, and he will flee. He has promised:

·       Resist him [Satan], firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5:9–10)