Give Yourself to the Word

Hello everyone,

According to scripture there is a battle that is being waged over the well being of your life.  The Word of God says that the devil, your enemy, has come to kill, steal and destroy everything concerning you.  The good news is, Colossians 2:15, says that because of the finished work of the cross, “[God] disarmed the principalities and powers...” and has taken away their power to harm us.  That means the only legal way our enemy, the devil,  can harm you or me, is by causing us to open the door of our lives to give him free access to do so.  

How do we give him the power to harm us?  We give the enemy free reign through the way we think!  When it comes to the battles and conflicts we face in this life, the human mind plays the role of the strategic control centre of every battle.  Romans 6:16 says that whoever we give our minds to, will become our master.  Our minds are the battle fields where the very heart beat of the war that wages on over the well being of our lives takes place. The devil’s strategy is to bombard our minds with worrisome, fretful thoughts.  As he manipulates circumstances around us, it becomes easy to pay attention to those negative thoughts, which in turn, causes us to feel anxious and fearful.  Before we realise what has happened, fear has crept into our minds and is able to begin its destructive work, from the inside out.  

No matter who we are, where we live or what our earthly circumstances are, if we are in this world, we are going to rub shoulders with incidents that have the potential to make us fearful. Fear is a destructive spiritual force that has the power to paralyse our ability to reason, send our emotions into turmoil and neutralise our faith - causing it to become inoperable. As believers who are promised a life of abundant peace, joy, provision and protection - how is it possible for us to live free from fear when the potential to be touched by it is all around us? 

Well, it’s really quite simple.  If the devil has brought the battle to our minds, then it’s up to us to take control of the battlefield and enforce his defeat!  Romans 12:2 urges and instructs us to make sure we are constantly renewing our minds to the truth of God’s Word.  It’s the only way we are going to flush out those dreaded, fearful thoughts that hold our minds and bodies captive.  It’s also the only way we are going to be infused with God’s supernatural inner strength to overcome. As we spend more time meditating on the Word of God and in prayer that is influenced by the truth we find in it, our trust in God grows stronger than the fear that’s trying to overcome us.  And when we are more convinced of what God’s Word says concerning us, than what those fearful thoughts are saying, our freedom and victory comes.  

The fact of the matter is, this must become our continuous practice.  Our peace and joy and ongoing victory over fear is not secured by us only paying attention to God’s Word once or twice a week.  No, we have to get to the place where the Word of God is constantly in our minds and hearts, feeding us truth and giving us life and peace.  This way, any time, or at any moment a fiery dart, in the form of a fearful thought, enters our minds, it will be extinguished by the water of God’s Word.

In other words, we have to live in the safety of the Word.  

Psalm 91:1-3 says, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand]. I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust! For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.”

Freedom from fear is a solid promise from the Lord, when we choose to abide in Him.  The word abide means “to dwell, to remain and to continue.”  If we are to dwell or abide in the secret place, or the shadow of the Almighty, we must live in continual union with Him.  That means keeping His Word in our minds and hearts so that we think like He thinks.  When our minds are flooded with God’s thoughts, we speak like He speaks and do what is in line with His perfect will -which is always to our benefit!  What happens to fear?  There is absolutely no room for fear in our lives when the Word has taken over our thoughts, words and actions!  God’s Word in us produces the powerful force of faith that causes every promise of God’s Word to become our reality.  And without faith operating like this in our lives, it’s impossible for us to please God.  After all He has done for us through the finished work of the cross, how can we please Him if we fail to gratefully take what He has handed us, and live short of the life He has provided for us?  How can we fail to respond to the freedom He bought for us because we were too lazy or busy to draw near to Him and live in His truth?

Now it’s important to understand God’s promise of provision, protection and freedom from fear, doesn’t guarantee that the devil will leave us alone. It does mean that when we choose to abide in the Lord, and have His truth saturate our minds, we will have a way to combat the devil’s attacks and overcome every problem, each time we are faced with one.  

Look at what Proverbs 22:17-19 says, “Listen (consent and submit) to the words of the wise, and apply your mind to my knowledge; For it will be pleasant if you keep them in your mind [believing them]; your lips will be accustomed to [confessing] them. So that your trust (belief, reliance, support, and confidence) may be in the Lord, I have made known these things to you today, even to you.”

As we meditate on God’s Word, it will stir up an expectation in our hearts to see His goodness more and more in our lives.  It’s going to revolutionise the way we think, and the way we speak and respond to things in our lives, because of the faith that it produces.  2 Corinthians 4:13 says, “Yet we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, I have believed, and therefore have I spoken. We too believe, and therefore we speak,”

Our faith filled words hold more power than we bargained for!  They carry the Word of God that never returns empty handed, but always produces exactly what it was sent out to produce in our lives (Isaiah 55:11).  So what are you waiting for?  Become the warrior God’s has made you to be, give yourself to His Word and take the reigns over what you allow to become a part of your thought life and belief system - that way faith will become your stronghold and fear will have no choice, but to flee.

Much love,

Jenny