Everything that you say and do begins with the thoughts in your mind. Right now, you are thinking about something. Maybe it’s work or family. Maybe it’s the ever looming question of the future. Where else do your thoughts go? Do you fear, get angry, feel depressed, or worry about failure?
These are all tactics that Satan uses to distract your mind from the peace and courage that God provides. On an episode of Enjoying Everyday Life, Joyce Meyer discusses the battles we face in our minds and how God can help us have victory over these attacks.
‘Our happiness is our responsibility,’ says Joyce. ‘Nobody can make us miserable if we won’t let them. Romans 8:1 says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. It’s a wonderful freedom when you can make a mistake, be convicted by the Holy Spirit, but not let that conviction turn into condemnation.’
Conviction from The Holy Spirit
Conviction from the Holy Spirit is something that we should deeply appreciate. God loves us enough that He’s not going to leave us the way we are. The scariest thing in the world would be to think that we could never change. While God is in the process of changing us through the power of His Word and the working of the Holy Spirit, we can enjoy our imperfect selves.
‘God loves you even when you’re in your different stages of imperfection,’ says Joyce. ‘I honestly believe that the motive of our heart is so much more important to God than what we even imagine. If you want to grow and you want to change, that puts a smile on God’s face.’
Why is it so easy for us to see everything that’s wrong with us, but so hard for us to see anything that’s right? Because Satan is the accuser of the brethren. If we really want to renew our minds, we will look up every scripture we can find on right thinking. We will start praying in this direction, and we will ask God to reveal the strongholds in our minds.
‘You cannot have what God wants you to have by somebody else spoon-feeding it to you,’ says Joyce. ‘You can only be pointed in the right direction. You’ve got to do some of the doing yourself.’
Article by Melinda McCredie, Vision Christian Media
