And There's the Rub

I've told you so much already, I might as well tell you this part, too. I like to stay positive, so this part is harder for me to share, but it is reality.

God has done this wonderful thing for me, but I am not immune to Satan's attempts to ruin it all. I confess that I am frequently confronted with thoughts and feelings that don't agree with what the Bible says about God, me, or my situation.

I think the thing that irritates me most is that I had a condition that can go into remission only to rear its ugly head again. So, I will often hear a voice that says, "You are not really healed. This is just MS in remission." Or, "What's it gonna be next time, huh? You gonna lose control of your bladder, or end up in a wheelchair or go blind?" Satan is such a meanie.

 The Bible says in Ephesians 6 that he throws fiery darts at us! I'm convinced that the great majority of those darts are aimed right at our minds. Because once he can get us to believe a lie, his work is pretty much done. We do very well to take it on our own from there and mess everything up ourselves. So I've got to have my shield of faith in place to put those fiery darts out!

As much as I would prefer to ignore these pesky thoughts that come, I know they must be addressed. There are three things I know I need to do:

1) Do what Jesus did.
B) Do what Jesus did.
III) Do what Jesus did.

When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the desert, he responded with the Word of God every time. That was His sword, and it is ours as well. He was ready. He knew His Bible. He had a Scripture defense for everything Satan threw at Him. I am realizing more and more how important it is for me to have an arsenal prepared ahead of time. When a thought comes in the middle of the day, I don't usually have the time to drop everything, pull out my concordance, and look up a verse pertaining to that issue. No, I must do my homework ahead, so I can be quick in battle.

2 Corinthians 10:5 says, "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." I love that word "demolish"; it definitely brings to mind actions that are contrary to simply ignoring.

demolish [dɪˈmɒlɪʃ]


vb (tr)

1. to tear down or break up (buildings, etc.)

2. to destroy; put an end to (an argument, etc.)

3. Facetious to eat up she demolished the whole cake!

[from French démolir, from Latin dēmōlīrī to throw down, destroy, from de- + mōlīrī to strive, toil, construct, from mōles mass, bulk]

demolisher n

demolishment n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

 Verb 1. demolish - destroy completely; "the wrecking ball demolished the building"; "demolish your enemies"; "pulverize the rebellion before it gets out of hand"


pulverise, pulverize

destroy, destruct - do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of; "The fire destroyed the house"

2. demolish - humiliate or depress completely; "She was crushed by his refusal of her invitation"; "The death of her son smashed her"

crush, smash

abase, chagrin, humiliate, humble, mortify - cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of; "He humiliated his colleague by criticising him in front of the boss"

3. demolish - defeat soundly; "The home team demolished the visitors"

destroy

smash - overthrow or destroy (something considered evil or harmful); "The police smashed the drug ring after they were tipped off"

swallow - engulf and destroy; "The Nazis swallowed the Baltic countries"

cut to ribbons - defeat totally; "We must cut the other team to ribbons!"

defeat, get the better of, overcome - win a victory over; "You must overcome all difficulties"; "defeat your enemies"; "He overcame his shyness"; "He overcame his infirmity"; "Her anger got the better of her and she blew up"



Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

I also like "take captive every thought..." It helps to imagine that when I use the Word against a wrong thought, it's like tying up the thought with a long rope, gagging it with some wads of Scripture, putting some handcuffs on it, tossing it into a locked cell, throwing away the key, and throwing the cell into a bottomless pit.

 Dust hands off.

Laugh triumphantly.