We are in a battle for our minds.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:10-18, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

Warriors know that when they go into battle death is a possibility. So, warriors prepare for battle physically and mentally. They build their physical strength and mental endurance. They develop skills and learn tactics. Warriors dress for battle. Warriors go into battle prepared.

We too must be prepared for the spiritual battle in our minds. We must know the Truth to combat the lies. We must suit up with the armor of God. We must pray on all occasions. We must work together, help, and encourage one another.

There will be injuries in a battle. We must care for ourselves and care for one another. We do not have to battle alone.

God will equip, enable, and empower us in whatever He calls us to.

Craig Groeschel recently released a book called Winning the War in Your Mind Change Your Thinking Change Your Life.  His opening sentences say, “Our lives are moving in the direction of our strongest thoughts. What we think shapes who we are.”

He uses Philippians 4:8-9 NIV to show us how to start winning the war in our minds. “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

• Thought (“think about such things”) to
• Action (“put it into practice”) to
• Experience (“the God of peace will be with you”).

I’ve only read the first couple chapters but so far, the book is confirming all that God has been teaching me, over the past few years, about the power of our thoughts and the power we have to choose what we think and God’s power at work filling us with Peace as we do.

We prepare for battle by knowing the Truth. We practice thinking on Truth. We read God’s Word. We write God’s Word upon our hearts. We pray God’s Word. We practice and practice knowing Truth, repeating the Truth to ourselves, until it becomes natural and even then, we will have to stay alert, be aware because we know we are in a battle and the enemy could be preparing an attack around any corner so we cannot let our guard down.

Be well balanced and always alert, because your enemy, the devil, roams around incessantly, like a roaring lion looking for its prey to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 TPT

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 NLT

Keep awake! Watch at all times. The devil is working against you. He is walking around like a hungry lion with his mouth open. He is looking for someone to eat. 1 Peter 5:8 NLV

I am not saying this is easy. Practicing and preparing takes work. We must put forth the effort. We can do this. We are stronger than we think. We are resilient. We are Holy Spirit filled!

One example of what this looks like for me.

The other evening when I got home from work, I was told some disappointing, frustrating, I could even call it heart-breaking news that immediately caused my mood to change (because of how I was choosing to think about the information, what I was making it mean). I immediately wanted to vent. I wanted to be mad.

But because I have been practicing choosing my thoughts, I also knew that venting or getting mad were not going to change what had happened and those responses would just make my evening and everyone around me that evening miserable.

So, I went in my room, took a few deep breaths to settle my thoughts, and said a prayer. (Often, I grab a journal and write down all my frustrations in moments like this to get them out and give them to God.)

Then, I went back to the kitchen and made dinner. As the thoughts about this circumstance came back that evening and over the next few days because that is how our minds work, I took deep breaths and tried to refocus on what I was thankful for.

Even as I write this the thoughts and feelings come back. I am thankful I have been practicing mind management so I can acknowledge them and let them go.

Bad things will happen. There will be things that disappoint us, frustrate us, are unfair, do not make sense, and we need to feel our feelings. I am not saying we ignore the hard things or do not feel them, just that we do not have to get stuck in them. We can choose to be upset or sad or disappointed, and acknowledge that life is hard. We can choose how long we want to feel the feelings. We acknowledge that we are causing the feelings with our thoughts. Then we can move through our feelings. Remembering, we do not have to get stuck there, and we are choosing to feel those feeling based on the thoughts we are thinking. And I have found that as I move through my hard feelings God expands my capacity to feel them in the future and be more compassionate with others.

The battle will look different on different days and in different seasons of our life. We must choose to stay prepared, not get lazy or too comfortable or too prideful in our abilities.

We must remember this is all part of it.

We must not deny the battle or be unaware.

Let us acknowledge we are at war for our minds, then choose to practice and be prepared to show up ready for battle.

Yet even in the midst of all these things, we triumph over them all, for God has made us to be more than conquerors, and his demonstrated love is our glorious victory over everything! So now I live with the confidence that there is nothing in the universe with the power to separate us from God’s love. I’m convinced that his love will triumph over death, life’s troubles, fallen angels, or dark rulers in the heavens. There is nothing in our present or future circumstances that can weaken his love.There is no power above us or beneath us—no power that could ever be found in the universe that can distance us from God’s passionate love, which is lavished upon us through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One! Romans 8:37-39 TPT

I hear the Lord saying, “I will stay close to you,
instructing and guiding you along the pathway for your life.
I will advise you along the way
and lead you forth with my eyes as your guide.
So don’t make it difficult; don’t be stubborn
when I take you where you’ve not been before.
Don’t make me tug you and pull you along.
Just come with me!” Psalm 32:8-9 TPT