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Giving you, godly clarity and perspective, His promise comes to you, as a word in season, this day, saying, Those who seek the Lord shall lack no good thing. [Psalms 138:10] His goodness becomes your life’s experience, as you receive His salvation, and therefore, a good understanding of what it involves becomes vital and necessary. For, it is the light of the gospel, shining in your heart that brings a divine order in you, radiating into an abundance that is the blessing of God. [2 Corinthians 4:6] It is progressive and not momentary, as His light shines in your soul steadily, to make you bold. And you then have the courage and strength to face the challenge that you face within you, the war against your soul. It is to combat the war within you that you are called to abstain from the desires of the flesh, that wage war against your soul. [1 Peter 2:11] The apostle James unpacks it further to point out the source of it all, saying, What is the source of fights and conflicts among you? Is the source, not your pleasures that wage war in your body’s parts? [1 James 4:1]
The battleground:
There is a war in you; a challenge you face, for you are responsible for your soul… It is a fight, that you ought to fight; it cannot be outsourced. And He gives you the strength and victory. As Paul writes to the Corinthians – Indeed, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards. The weapons of our warfare, are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. [2 Corinthians 10:3-5] A truth that you need to come to grips with is that you are in a spiritual battle. It is a war against your soul. And, your mind, where thoughts come and go, or linger and stay, is the battlefield. You wage war, therefore, armed suitably with spiritual armor, to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. The weapons of your warfare have divine power to overcome arguments, and speculation, and demolish strongholds, to give you victory.
HE is my salvation:
The battle rages in your mind with unwelcome thoughts that trigger arguments, contending with each other. Therefore, any thought that is contrary to God’s word needs to be taken captive and brought under the control of Christ. And it is why, even as the psalmist writes, you need to say to your soul, He is my salvation, to see victory [ Psalms 35:1] There may be painful questions in you, concerning inexplicable happenings in your life. They only serve to teach you that, on this side of heaven, you and I will have to learn to live with questions that do not have answers, and ought to trust God and rest in Him.
Arguments –> speculation –> stronghold:
For otherwise, it could lead to wild imaginings or speculations, that when not controlled, would move to a place of the stronghold, as the seed of thought not dealt with, makes you so convinced about it, that you begin to look forward to it becoming a reality in your life, and it does happen too! The life of King Saul describes it all – a life that though it began as the chosen king of God’s people, digressed to a sad ending.
The thousands & ten thousand!:
And the women sang to one another as they made merry, Saul has killed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands. [1 Samuel 18:7] It was the song that formed part of the festivities that took place after David defeated Goliath. It displeased Saul and made him angry, and when the words were sung over and over again, he began to eye David with suspicion. David though had no ill will against him and truly believed that it was going against the will of God, to touch the Lord’s anointed, which Saul was, at that point of time. In fact, it was the anointed music of David that brought temporary reprieve to Saul, who was driven to the edge of his sanity, as the words of the song praising David kept ringing continuously in his ears. It ultimately became a stronghold in his mind, and he was unable to be delivered from his animosity that developed into fear. And he died reckoning himself to be an enemy of David, a sad and piteous death.
You can overcome:
But it need not be your story. There is no need to struggle and become overwhelmed or frustrated by an attitude of perceived inability, for if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed. And how does it happen? You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
HE must increase & I must decrease:
It can be seen beautifully portrayed in the life of John the Baptist, who came as a herald of the truth, pointing to the Lamb of God, Lord Jesus, to be the Messiah, who had come to take away the sins of the world. John knew the truth and walked in it. And so he was not deterred or discouraged in his thoughts when the people were going now to Lord Jesus, was the word his disciples brought to him. He replied with sober judgment, The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice… For this reason, my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. [John 3:29,30]
Thoughts taken captive, arguments destroyed:
It is by the truth of the word of God, a confession of it, that you can take every negative thought that is against God’s word captive. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow, it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. [Hebrews 4:12]
Christian – a disciple:
The word of God is like a self-targeting missile system. Even as you study the word, it exposes your thoughts, and analyzes them, to reveal what triggered a particular thought. It judges the thought, to discern whether it aligns with the scriptures.
HIS word – your voice:
And it is your voice that activates it; you need to speak it out, for the word has an inherent property of a self-targeting mechanism. So, as it is written in the scriptures, it will not return void but will accomplish the purpose for which it was sent. And you will be empowered to take every wrongful thought captive, as He enables you to understand, what He has already made available for you so that you may go from strength to strength, to shine for His glory. And you can even now, speak rest to your soul, in Christ, to know His power, in quietness and trust. Father, We thank Thee for Thy word, Thy grace, and Your knowledge of our deepest struggles within. And we thank Thee for Your word that has come to us that empowers us to overcome the struggles within us, for today, is the day of our salvation. We shall overcome, today. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
