Battlefield of the Mind DevotionalSample

Know the Truth

In my book Battlefield of the Mind, I write about John, a low-key type person. He was a man who had been verbally abused by his mother and taunted by playmates in childhood. He hated confrontation and couldn't stand up to his wife, Mary's strong will.

John was convinced that it didn't do any good to stand up to anyone; he was going to lose anyway. He thought the only way to get along was to be quiet and accept whatever happened.

John also believed another lie--that he wasn't truly loved by God. Because he felt that way, he had believed the devil's lies. "I felt as if God said to the world, 'Believe in Jesus and you'll be saved.' I got in on some kind of package deal--but I never felt I was worth loving."

If the enemy of your mind can convince you that you're too bad or too worthless, he has set up a stronghold in your mind.

Although John was a Christian, his mind had been imprisoned by his enemy.

John needs to know that he is loved, and that he is as valuable to the kingdom of God as Paul, Moses, or anybody else. For John to win his battle and cast down the mental strongholds the devil has built, he needs to know the truth. Jesus said, "If you . . . [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples. And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free" (John 8:31b-32).

John learns truth as he reads God's Word, prays, and meditates on what it says to him. He also learns as he applies God's Word in his daily life and has the experience of watching it work as Jesus said it would.

I have learned from the Word of God and life's experiences that God's Word is filled with power and will tear down the strongholds Satan has built in our minds.

You cannot be free unless you know that the weapons of warfare are available to you and that you can learn to use them.

Pray: Lord God of heaven, remind me that I am important to You and that I am loved by You, even if I don't feel loved. Help me to learn that I am as important to You as any other Christian and that You love me as much as You love them. I thank You in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

From the book Battlefield of the Mind Devotional by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2005 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.