The Antidote for Anxiety and Depression: Trust in Abba Father’s Care – Pt 31
The Intensity of Spiritual Warfare
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
– Ephesians 6:12
In reflection I realized that for as long as I can remember myself I have been a deep thinker, I internalized everything around me and every word spoken to me, I scrutinized everything and everyone, I trusted no one, and I mostly held a negative prospective of everything. This is mainly because of the cognitive distortions that I had developed as coping strategies due to the prolonged and severe adverse events I experienced from a child. That was how I survived (so I thought). But in actuality, it was one of the devil’s devices to gain access to and setup strongholds in my mind in order to destroy my life. In the previous devotionals I mentioned the cognitive distortions ‘polarized thinking’ (all-or-nothing, or black and white thinking), ‘mental filtering’, and ‘discounting the positive’. Today I would like to share with you another that I also developed, that is, ‘personalization’ where I took everything personally even when they had no connection to or caused by me at all. Hence, in some instances I blamed myself for situations that were of no fault of my, like when I blamed myself for being sexually abused as a child and for the persons’ leaving as I mentioned in previous devotionals.
Several years ago I visited with a friend in Boston, USA and took ill. After being ill for a few days, one day my friend left work to take me to the emergency and stayed for hours by my bedside as I was treated. I felt so guilty because I blamed myself for getting sick and for her having to leave work and being at the hospital for so long, while in truth and in fact there was nothing that I did wrong or to cause myself to become ill. This friend often told me, “Get over yourself Joanne, and don’t take yourself so seriously because others aren’t taking you that seriously.”
How do I get over myself and not take myself so seriously when there is a perpetual war being waged in my mind? These cognitive distortions that I had developed were so real and made sense even though they were not the truth.
The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:12 tells us, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Let’s take a closer look at the word “wrestle” in this verse. I believe that it is vital for us to understand the intensity of spiritual warfare.
The word “wrestle” is derived from the old Greek word pale, which denotes struggling, wrestling, or hand-to-hand combat (Renner, 2003).
Therefore, the phrase “for we wrestle not against flesh and blood” in Ephesians 6:12 actually conveys the notion:
“For our wrestle – that is, our intense struggle, fierce combat, contest, challenge, and ongoing conflict – is not really with flesh and blood, but with…” (Renner, 2003).
This wrestling is not against flesh and blood or our fellow human beings but against the demonic powers that are in Satan’s kingdom. The Apostle Paul described the different levels of such demonic powers. They are “principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places.”
One may ask, where does this spiritual warfare take place? This spiritual warfare takes place mostly in our mind. It is a real wrestle as the devil and his demon spirits assault our minds with strongholds of lies, insinuations, unbelief, etc. Once the devil gets access into our minds he seeks to destroy our lives because he is aware that the central control centre of our lives is our mind.
What then should you do to defeat the devil in this spiritual warfare that is waging in your mind? You need to read your Bible and infuse your mind with the Word of God. Let God’s thoughts renew your mind and transform your life. This is the best mental protection against the enemy’s attack on your mind. Once the enemy gets access into your mind, he also has access into other weak areas of your life. However, you are already equipped with the whole armour of God. Attire yourself daily as you prepare to wrestle against the demonic powers of Satan’s kingdom. You are assured of victory every time.
God bless you!
MY PRAYER FOR TODAY
Heavenly Father I worship You in spirit and in truth because it’s what You require of me. Oh how my soul sings You praises to the ends of the earth. For You alone are worthy of my highest praise. You desire the glory, honour and praise. Thank you for revelatory knowledge and insight from Your Word into spiritual warfare and Satan’s demonic powers against which I wrestle. I declare today that daily I intentionally decide to attire with the whole armour of God and I infuse my mind with the thoughts of God in His Word. Therefore, I win every wrestle in my mind and live victoriously. I pray this by faith in Jesus’ name with thanksgiving. Amen!
