SATAN ATTEMPTS TO DESTROY THREE ESSENTIAL RELATIONSHIPS
In Part 1 I reminded us that we have an enemy that works to divide and conquer. Right now before our eyes, people are being divided and turned against each other—man vs woman, black vs white, husband vs wife, republican vs democrat, state vs federal, masked vs unmasked, vaxxed vs unvaxxed . . . and on and on and on. We are becominge fragmented and distrustful; cautious to share our thoughts out loud for fear of what others might think. There is a battle taking place and we tend to look at and blame the people we can see and hear and touch. But we are focusing our blame and accusation on the wrong "enemy."
Yes there is a battle, but Paul tells us who our real enemy is and how to defeat him.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 KJV says
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong
holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the
knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."
There is a battle taking place and the battlefield is in each person's mind. In your mind. In mine. What we think determines how we feel as well as the direction our lives will go.
"As a man thinks in his heart, so he is." Proverbs 23:7
So what is Satan's strategy?
Satan comes to steal, kill & destroy. He does it through a strategy of deceit - whispering his lies in our minds. His main focus is on destroying relationships. Our God is a relational God - Father, Son & Holy Spirit. We are made in His image, so relationships are essential to our existence.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind . . .
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:38,39
SATAN AGGRESSIVELY WORKS TO DESTROY THREE ESSENTIAL RELATIONSHIPS—
Relationships between God & Me; Me & Others; Me & Myself
GOD & ME
Satan works to keep us from fully grasping the love of the Father. This keeps us separated from a God who deeply loves us. Satan sows doubt about His love for us, he plants fear, and produces guilt, & condemnation.
ME & OTHERS
Satan cannot stand unity of any kind. He consistently works to drive a wedge between us and other people. He plants seeds of misunderstanding, mistrust, hurt, bitterness, and jealousy, to name a few.
Me & Myself
This one was the biggest ah-ha for me. I didn't even realize that I had a relationship with myself! That's the first yea he uses against us. Satan also:
Tries to trap us with Self-Accusation (ie- "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda"s")
Encourages us to believe the words of others (ie - not accepted, don’t belong, etc.)
Plants seeds such as Self-pity, Self-condemnation, Perfectionism, Guilt, Fear
A huge ah-ha for me was that Satan can whisper to our hearts in the first person to plant thoughts in our minds - so it seems like the thoughts are our own. When a thought comes to my mind I always have the choice to accept it and make it my own or reject it.
So first we must recognize Satan's strategy to destroy our relationships.
Then we must be diligent to guard out hearts by staying alert to the thoughts that roll
around in our heads.
Learn more about our three essential relationships.
Learn more about Managing Conflict.
Learn more about taking thoughts captive.
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