DON’T’ BE A VICTIM, BE A VICTOR

A lady worshipper shares her story of several years ago when thieves smashed the windows of eight cars in the church parking lot during the Sunday morning worship service. It was devastating. When those members came out to their cars after the service was over, they discovered shattered glass on the ground and in the car, and found valuable property stolen. How could such a thing happen on church grounds – on God’s property? But it happens all the time, she says. I’m not talking about just the natural but in the supernatural.

So, she explains. She had been meditating on John 10:10 lately in which Jesus called Satan a “thief:” The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I, said Jesus, have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. In the natural, you would take safety precautions if you knew you lived among thieves, wouldn’t you? At our church, we normally have security guards patrolling the parking lot during our Sunday services. But we found out later that no one was on guard that particular Sunday. It turned out to be a costly oversight.

Let’s look at this from a life perspective. Has the enemy destroyed or stolen something from you? think of several things he is robbing Christians of right now:

            Health

            Relationships/marriages

            Children’s futures

            Finances

            Peace of mind

            Joy

Are we doing everything we can to protect our territory which the Lord has given us?

The enemy loves to use our emotions against us. Scripture gives us another warning about the protection issue: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). We cannot allow ourselves to get “drunk” off food (gluttony/bingeing) or anything else in the natural that keeps us bound.

So, while we are mentally impaired, the enemy is robbing us blind! Isn’t it time that we sober up and start standing guard over our territory? The Lord is ready to help. The following are two ways we can start protecting yourself better when it comes to your health:

1. Internal Protection. To me, this is the area where Christians fail to protect ourselves most. We allow the enemy to sow lying thoughts into our minds and let them grow. I define a lying thought as any pattern of thinking that contradicts God’s word. When we don’t take the time to find out what God’s word says and implement it, then all we have is what the devil says. That is the default programming of this world. Many Christians are walking with the enemy in their daily lives without even knowing it. And of course, the devil is happy that they keep him close so that he can keep on stealing!

A good question to ask yourself in your thought life is: “Where are these thoughts taking me?” Some thoughts lead you where you don’t want to go! The enemy can deceive you into by clouding your mind with false evidence.

2 Corinthians 10:5 gives us this guidance: “Tear down every proud idea that raises itself against the knowledge of God. Capture every thought and make it give up and obey the Anointed One.” Also, Romans 12:2 says, “Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.”

So, this is the main work that you must do if you want to take back what the devil is stealing from you. If you are in bondage to negative thinking and mental strongholds, then clean your mind by using Biblical wisdom.

2. External protection. Assess your environment to see what your daily intake is from Television, Newspapers, Magazines, Social Media, Facebook, etc. Here’s a simple guideline: Keep close those things that help you to do good; keep away those things that lead you into doing bad. Here’s an example from some years ago: A lady wrote about her weakness for binge TV series viewing. She stated that she kept the TV on all the time so she wouldn’t miss anything.

She didn’t know why the Lord didn’t remove the temptation from her. Here’s a question for all of us: Let’s say we knew there was a habitual thief who lived in our neighborhood. Would we leave the door to our house wide open for them to come in and steal what they wanted? Of course not. Would you expect the Lord to come down from heaven and shut the door for you? If so, you’ll have to wait a long, long time for that to happen. You see, the Lord gives us wisdom on what to do. Our responsibility is to do what the Lord says.

I am sure that the Lord told this lady she needed to get turn off her TV addiction because it had become a snare to her. But here’s an uncomfortable truth; sometimes people want to have an affair with the enemy while being married to Jesus! They want to leave the door open just a crack so that the enemy can sneak in for what they think will be a short, midnight visit. But the enemy does not work like that. If we give him an inch of territory, he will eventually take it all!

It is wise to keep anything that can overcome our weaknesses far from us. – at home, work, whatever territory you occupy. Good planning beats great intentions every time! If you are not willing to do this, then you need to confront the fear behind it. Ask yourself: “What do I fear will happen if I don’t keep my TV, Notepad, or I-Phone close to me?” If you are not sure what specific internal and external protections you need to put in place, then seek the Lord in prayer about it. Ask Him for wisdom. Seek Him with all your heart. Your heart is the “Holy of Holies” in your temple.

The Lord is your best defense because He is committed to seeing you finish well. He wants you to walk in freedom in Him, not in bondage to anything. God will do His part in securing your protection. Are you ready to do yours? Be blessed in health, healing and wholeness. (by Therapist Kimberly Taylor, Senior Vice President in the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc., Career Group in San Francisco.)

The wise King Solomon in his proverbs tells us, “Don’t take the path of mischievous people; don’t follow those who do wrong. Stay away from that path; don’t even go near it. Turn around and go another way.” (Proverbs 4:14-15). The Apostle James puts it this way: “You are tempted by the evil things you want. Your own desire leads you away and traps you.” (James 1:14).

The Apostle Paul adds this: “The only temptations that you have are the same temptations that all people have. But you can trust God. He will not let you be tempted more than you can bear. But when you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape that temptation. Then you will be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13).  It’s just like eating. Do you eat things to satisfy your hunger or do you eat them because they look tempting? Are you eating to keep yourself healthy, or are you willing to take chances that high cholesterol, blocked arteries, and becoming obese will not happened to you?

Moses and Jesus said it all: “God humbled you and let you be hungry. Then He fed you with manna – something you did not know about before. It was something your ancestors never saw. Why did the Lord do this? Because He wanted you to know that it is not just bread that keeps people alive. People’s lives depend on what the Lord says.” (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4). – Dr. Robert R Seyda