Meditate On
The Battle Is Real
A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at
your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you
look, and see the reward of the wicked.
Psalm 91:7–8
Imagine you are in a battlefield and all around you
soldiers are being slain. On one side, you see a thousand fall. On the other,
ten thousand crumple one by one to the ground. You hear screams as bullets find
their targets.
It is a disturbing picture and I thank God that the
majority of us have not had to experience the horrors of being in a physical
combat zone. But that does not mean that we are not under attack nor does it
mean that we do not see death claiming its victims all around us.
We are assaulted daily from all directions by tragic
newsflashes, by doctors’ reports, and by attacks of the devil launched at us.
And every day, we see casualties around us as we read about people dying in
accidents, in attacks, or of diseases. Please understand that I am not in any
way suggesting that such occurrences are equivalent to the experiences of those
who may have been in wars. What I do want to establish is that believers are in
a spiritual war, and we should not be ignorant of the enemy’s tactics.
When the enemy attacks you, do you recognize his weapons?
The projectiles he shoots may not come with arrowheads or be filled with
gunpowder, but they are no less deadly. His weapons come in the form of
crippling thoughts and crushing fears. When you hear about a plane crash and
are paralyzed by the thought that your next plane ride might be your last, you
have been shot. When you read about a shooting at a concert venue and fear
going near one in case the same thing happens to you, a “bullet” has been
lodged in your mind.
In this section, I want to teach and equip you to combat
these oppressive thoughts. Unfortunately, many believers who may experience these
dark thoughts allow them to take root and grow. They water them with worry,
fertilize them with anxiety, and allow them to sun for hours in their mind.
How? By replaying the bad thoughts over and over again and letting them go on
and on like a broken record. As a result, these believers can’t sleep, they
suffer from chronic panic attacks, and they might even develop autoimmune and
psychosomatic conditions. What begins in the mind can take root in your heart,
and can even lead to adverse effects on your physical body. When those negative
thoughts come your way, you must not give them time to take root!
BLESSINGS
JOSEPH PRINCE
