Sabbatical Day 40

During Lent, many Christians give up some sort of food, or vice in order to prepare for Easter. For some it is soda, others maybe sweets, and still others may give up meat or hobbies. For me I sense that I am to give up false beliefs that lead to destructive emotions, thoughts and behaviors.

This time away from the usual hussle of life has afforded much needed moments to really get in touch with my emotions. Often during chaos, we react so quickly that we don't even know the emotions we are experiencing. We just know we feel bad or we feel good depending on the situation. Past that we really can't explain what may be rolling around in our heads and hearts.

Whether we believe it or not, or even want to admit it or not, we are at war. The battlefield is our minds. We live and respond from our beliefs. False beliefs or true beliefs all impact how we respond to each life situation. Tracking those beliefs through our emotions and behaviors can help us see the reality of our beliefs...are they false or true. Paul says in II Corinthians 10:3-5, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations, and every lofty thing raise up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."

To win this war we must begin with what goes on in our mind. I love the words Paul uses here saying that we have divinely powerful weapons to destroy speculations and anything that raises up against God's truth. Years of trying to transform my thoughts on my own have left me discouraged and weary. Beating myself up for the inability to change leaves me feeling sad, ashamed and basically stupid. Why can't I get this right? Why do I keep falling for the same old issues? I have been a Christian for so long...so when am I going to see real, lasting, authentic transformation?

We will see real transformation when we begin to use the weapons God has given us to use. These weapons are divine...they are from Him with Holy Spirit power to change our beliefs in order to transform our emotions, thoughts and behaviors.

Here's the clincher. We have to cooperate. Yep, we can try doing this on our own, but will probably result in frustration because our weapons are not nearly powerful enough to withstand the enemy. Only His weapons can win in the battleground of our minds. Thank God for all He wants to do in order to win our battles. Let the battle wage on. My arsenal is changing. My arsenal is filling up with the supernatural weapons from Papa.

May you experience the Spirit's power this day. Spend some time today with God developing His strategy and seeking His help in the war room.