The War WithinShembull

Where Is The War Fought?

There is an unseen battle in the realm of the spirit every day where the enemy seeks to destroy communities, nations, godly governments and cause mass destruction. The enemy tries first to infiltrate individuals. In the Garden of Eden, the enemy infiltrated perfection to influence the first man and woman. He did not wait for them to multiply first before he attacked. He just needed one person to listen to his lies, and he brought down unborn generations. 

I have heard this statement often, “an idle mind is the devil’s playground.” All the enemy needs to promote his evil agenda is a willing and idle mind. Every day the war for the believer is won or lost in the mind. 

The enemy hates God, and he hates God's creation, and his goal is to sever the relationship believers have with God. He plants seeds of doubt in our thoughts so unbelief and mistrust can arise, cutting off man’s true life-source. 

The Apostle Paul describes this struggle in the book of Romans, and it is one we can all identify with. He says, “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.” (Romans 7: 21 – 23 NIV). 

In another passage he says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2 NIV)

From the beginning of time, God spoke words of instructions to Adam and Eve because they needed to use their free will to choose obedience to God’s ways over their own. They failed, because they doubted his word as truth. They didn’t have a sin nature because God created them perfect, but they possessed the ability to think and make choices. 

After Jesus died and rose again, he restored us to our true identity in him. However, our old sin habits still linger. If we don’t use the word of God as ultimate truth and connect with the Holy Spirit to help us, we risk giving in and submitting to the lies of the enemy. 

The Apostle Paul also shows us the depth of the battle and how we win - “He said, [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).” (2 Corinthians 10:5 AMPC). 

The battle is in the mind. The war is about truth versus lies, victory versus defeat and freedom versus slavery. Truth, victory, and freedom are only realized in our lives when we hold fast to God’s word as being superior to everything else in this world. His word never fails; his word will always bear fruit; his word will accomplish what it was sent to do. 

This is the real war – a war within, a war against our new identity in Christ and a war to sever our relationship from God. We must come to a place where we recognize we are in a war, our enemy is real, and the battle is in the mind. Once we discover the answers to these fundamental questions we will be on our way to living victoriously. 

Where is the war fought? The answer is in the mind.

“Satan will aggressively fight against the renewal of your mind, but it is vital that you press on and continue to pray and study in this area until you gain measurable victory.”  ― Joyce Meyer