THE VICIOUS CYCLE OF DEFEAT
God has planned us to have a sound mind, one that is well-disciplined, one that is one-hundred percent free, one-hundred percent clean, one-hundred percent healthy, one-hundred percent renewed, and one-hundred percent victorious.
As we face the counterattacks of Satan, God is calling us to have a sound, well-disciplined mind that is controlled by the Holy Spirit. It is not ours automatically. To have a well-disciplined, victorious mind, we must:
- Take aggressive action against Satan’s attacks on our minds — recognize, resist and cast out all thoughts he tries to plant into our hearts and minds.
- Continually bring every thought into captivity.
- Continually be renewed in our minds by “putting off” the old carnal nature with its carnal mind and bringing our thoughts, wills, desires, and attitudes under the control of the Holy Spirit and into conformity with the will of God.
- Fill our hearts and minds with God’s Word and the knowledge of Christ.
Satan’s objective in attacking us is to wear us down until we become spiritually weary and faint in our minds. He knows that if our minds are weak we will be weak and he will be able to gain access and defeat us.
In this massive counterattack Satan is launching against the Church, he is going to try to cause you to become so tired of your circumstances, your sickness, your struggling, and not having enough money to pay your bills that you will be ready to give up.
Becoming spiritually weary is one of the most dangerous positions you can be in. I am warning you now, so that you will not fall into Satan’s trap. No doubt, you have fought heavy spiritual battles before, but they are not going to compare with the battles you are going to face during this counterattack. Satan is intensifying his attacks on the Church. He is going to try to literally wear you out, and — unless you are aware of what is happening and prepare yourself for the battle — you will not be able to stand. You will live in a cycle of defeat.
Satan will attack you through your circumstances so that you will become caught in this cycle of defeat. He will bombard your mind with fear, worry, and doubt until you become spiritually weary. At this point, if you faint in your mind, you will become discouraged, lose hope, and resign yourself to accept your circumstances. Your discouragement will lead to depression where you will be spiritually immobilized and caught in the vicious cycle of defeat.
Make this declaration:
I am taking aggressive action against Satan’s attacks on my mind. I will continually bring every thought into captivity. I will renew my mind by putting off the old carnal nature and filling my heart with God’s Word. Ephesians 4:17-24