Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
-1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)
This scripture is not talking about being sober from alcohol but pointing to the importance of keeping our minds calm and clear.
Do you realize you can love God, believe that Jesus is His Son, know in your heart that He died and rose again, pray, read your Bible, even be fully plugged into a church community, and still be devoured by the enemy?
The enemy knows he can’t defeat God’s plan for eternal life. The devil saw that when he thought he won through the crucifixion of Jesus — he missed that God used him to fulfill His plan to redeem what was lost in the garden. But he is continually going after God’s children through thoughts, feelings, and circumstances that keep our minds in a war zone that empowers him in our daily lives — blocking us from the rich and satisfying life Jesus paid for.
The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. -John 10:10 (NLT)
Our minds are the devil’s playing field — we need to be on high alert with how our minds are taking us downward, not heavenward, giving the enemy access to take us down and out of our race.
When our minds are consumed with anxiety-driven thoughts, fear, anger, negativity, criticism, selfishness, jealousy, memories of the past, earthly focused, with belief systems that oppose God’s Word, the enemy has an in. Our minds will either lead us to everything we have through Jesus and our new Spirit-empowered life or keep us locked into our old nature, bound by stress, anxiety, depression, fear — everything that’s the opposite of peace, hope, and joy.
Taking our thoughts captive and establishing a clear, sound, and calm mind is vital as new creations in Christ. What we choose to fix our minds on is the key to total transformation, and the enemy knows it. When our minds are at war, we become shaped by feelings, not Jesus. From there, our attention is on what we see and feel in the natural, not on what’s unseen, living by faith. This pattern is blocking us from living transformed, empowered by the Spirit.
A transformed mind leads us to our transformed life. (Romans 12:2)
This is scriptural.
This is Truth.
And it’s the Truth that sets us free!
The enemy is not threatened by us believing in God and Heaven.
He’s not even threatened by how many podcasts we listen to, how many books we read, how often we go to church and conferences…
The enemy is threatened when our mind is like Christ, filled with an unshakable peace, an unspeakable joy, and a hope that goes beyond what we see.
When our mind is set on the things above, we can no longer be taken down or feel defeated by what’s going on in the natural because we are confident that Christ lives in us, we are loved, death has been defeated, and we are victors with hope and a future.
No thought, feeling, or devil can take that confidence away!
And with that, we have one focus in mind — to shine Him because He’s in us!
Don’t be a target to the enemy. Get your thinking lined up with the Kingdom of Heaven and put the devil back in his place…underneath your feet!
Pray with me: Father, my mind is far from sober, and I’m realizing how the negative mind war is blocking me from the hope, joy, and peace that can only be found through Jesus. My mind has been the open door to the enemy who has been devouring me, leading me away from the rich and satisfying life that is mine through Your Son. I didn’t realize I was allowing my mind to get caught up in what I feel and see, not living with a renewed mind, driven by feelings, not by faith. Holy Spirit, help me identify the patterns in my mind that are keeping me locked into my old nature, blocking me from living as a new creation in Christ. Help me understand what it truly means to live by faith, not by sight. I don’t want to be driven by my emotions, giving the enemy access to any part of my life. I want to be led by You and Your Spirit within me, with a sound mind that leads me to Your well of joy and peace. Amen.
