For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)

The above Scripture is clear- we are in a war! But, the warfare in which we are involved is not with other human beings, but with Satan and his demons. Satan is a thief, a liar and a deceiver and he has targeted us with attempts to defeat us. He is called “the father of lies and all that is false” (See John 8:44); therefore, whenever he speaks lies to us we should not listen. He tells us things concerning God that are untrue; such as saying, “God can’t be trusted.” He lies and says that “God doesn’t really care about you.” He also lies about you, others and circumstances that are simply not true. So again, why do we listen?

Well, he ensnares us! He begins with a clever plan and bombards our minds with little engaging words, doubts, worries and thoughts. If we heed them, he begins to move in slowly with more. Before we realize it, we have completely swallowed the bait and are hooked! We find ourselves fully trapped, afraid, anxious…hoodwinked!

The enemy knows most of us well. He has carefully studied us and he knows our lifestyles, reactions and life patterns. He knows how to create a stumbling block so that we fall. If we feel rejected easily, the enemy targets us with rejection. If we are easily offended, he then causes offense. So how do we defeat him?

We must begin to tear down strongholds in our minds. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 tells us this concerning our warfare, strongholds and thoughts (and remember many thoughts are caused by the devil’s whispers!):

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. NIV

Satan causes strongholds to be built in our minds with his deceits. A stronghold is an area in which we are held captive. It is like a prison where one is held in bondage- all due to a certain type of thinking! In this previous passage, Paul tells us we have the weapons to defeat these strongholds. In verse 5 we see clearly that the battlefield is in the mind and in our thoughts. We are instructed to tear down these thoughts. How do we do that? We replace every lie spoken and replace it with God’s truth.

This is where the real battle is! Tearing down the devil’s words and speaking only the Word of God concerning yourself, others or the circumstance! I’ve always said that if the devil is whispering in our ears he way too far up off the ground – he belongs under our feet!

Believers- we’ve got some tearing down to do!