There are unpleasant things that always come our way. As
you think about them, you just feel angry and discouraged. The negative
thoughts seem to get hold of you and feel like speaking out as you feel,
thinking it is a way of relieving yourself. Is that the best way to relieve
yourself? Always remember, we are in a spiritual battle. Understand that every
thought, emotion, and action count. You need to exercise your faith and
self-control.
The Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 6:31 revealed that to the point at which we take a thought,
we embrace it as our own. The scripture reads as follows:
“Therefore
take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or,
Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” I want you to note the
phrase, ‘Take no thought…’ Once you take thought on something, you own up to
that thought. It becomes your own whether it is good or evil. It means you have
started the creation process of that thought. As to where that thought
originated no longer matters. Negative thoughts will always come to your mind.
They may originate from what you see, feel and hear others saying. There is no
way of avoiding thoughts from coming. But you can choose on whether or not to
allow them take root in your mind.
Your
tongue can destroy you
The devil brings thoughts, feelings, and attitudes to our
minds and hearts with regards to certain issues. These are like seeds thrown to
the ground to grow and bring forth crops of their kind. But as a child of God,
you can prevent these evil seeds from taking root in your life by taking no thought
of them. That means you avoid entertaining evil thoughts.
Once you are able to resist speaking a negative thought,
you have rejected ownership of that evil thought. Once rejected, the thought
loses the strength to release the negative power it has. Remember that the
power of a seed to grow is within it. When allowed, it will naturally grow. So
a negative thought has the evil power in it for its fulfillment. It just needs
a conducive environment. Refuse to speak negative thoughts that violate what
you believe.
“Death
and life are in the power of the tongue:
and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (Proverbs
18:21). We note from this scripture that there are two forces that can be
released through your tongue. It is either death or life. We speak life to ourselves;
however, we tend to counter those words of life with negative words. That
neutralizes results. Your words then lose the necessary energy to bring forth
expected results. That is why most of the time things do not change and conform
to what we want in life. We learn therefore, that we can hinder our own success
in life if we are not careful enough.
Your
words are important
Normally, everyone protects what he values as important.
You need to protect your words. Do not allow your words to be contaminated.
Your words are creative. Therefore, learn to always speak what you want to see
happening in your life.
There is this interesting portion of
scripture found in Mark 11:23-24:
Mar 11:23 For
verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou
removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but
shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall
have whatsoever he saith.
Mar 11: 24 Therefore
I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye
receive them, and ye shall have them.”
We further see that God is more than
willing to grant what we ask from Him according to Matthew 7:7-8:
“Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it
shall be opened unto you:
Mat 7:8
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him
that knocketh it shall be opened.
The Bible has encouraged us to pray and ask for the
things we desire. These things may be about family, relationships, finances, careers,
health, etc. However, after praying you can speak negatively about the things
you have prayed for. You may find yourself criticizing, beating down those very
things you desire to see in your life. By so doing, you release death on them.
That is why at times we do not receive the results we expect. We then wonder
why we do not receive from God.
You can say what the facts of a matter are, like
acknowledging a problem but you should then counter them with what you believe
God for. Avoid starting with what you are believing God for and then countering
with the negative facts. Always remember that you are either releasing death or
life. Guard your mouth and release life.
“Set
a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” (Psalms 141:3).
Be in control of the harvest of your life. Proverbs 18:20 says, “A man's belly shall be satisfied with the
fruit of his mouth; and with the
increase of his lips shall he be filled.”
Every word you speak is like a seed. Any seed produces
after its kind. You have to choose what kind of harvest you want to reap in
your life. We choose every day. Do not gripe, complain, and speak negatively
because you may not be pleased with the fruits. Problems will come your way but
avoid bitterness. Do not allow negative thoughts to dominate your life. Train
yourself to always think positively, speak words that are consistent with God’s
word, and act in a godly manner. Your words and actions are important.
Let
your eyes be always open to truth
Satan takes advantage of the negative words we speak ignorantly.
Look at what Matthew 12:37 says, “because by your words you will be
acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." (International Standard Version). Your words will release you
from any bondage. At the same time you may be condemned into bondage or
suffering of any kind because of your words.
Failure to appreciate the importance of our words will
lead to speaking doubt, unbelief, foolishness, and things that empower Satan to
devour us. When our guards are down, the enemy will destruct us. In Acts 26:18, we read, “To open their eyes, and to turn them
from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they
may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are
sanctified by faith that is in me.” Satan has blinded people. He dominates
the lives of many without them being aware of it. That is a painful experience.
It becomes easier for unsuspecting believers to think that things happen just
because of circumstances, fate or luck. Such things are a result of influences
from the devil.
Let us look at the following scripture in Ephesians 2:1-3:
Eph 2:1 And
you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according
to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our
flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature
the children of wrath, even as others.
Before we became the children of God, the devil was
influencing our lives. We were the children of Satan by nature. Therefore, he
was dominating our lives because we were blinded to the truth. Now our eyes
should be open to the truth.
2
Corinthians 4:4 says, “In
whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God,
should shine unto them.” The enemy is still blinding and hardening the
hearts of people today. He does not want them to see the truths of the Gospel
of Christ. The Church needs to fully understand that the spiritual battle is
serious. The devil is aggressive in his approach. As believers, we also need to
be aggressive and preach truth to people.
The
devil corrupts
Satan is using all possible means to spread his deception
to the world. He uses most of the digital media like TV, radio, and Internet to
spread his evil influence thus extending his control. Both believers and non
believers are exposed to various degrees of ungodliness in areas of sexual
immorality, violence, strife, hatred and sarcasm. All of these evil are poured
into our homes as Satan uses them. The same platforms are used by God for the spreading
of the kingdom of heaven. If believers are not careful, the devil will destroy a
lot of people’s lives. Watching the evil stuff in the media will affect you
more than you realize. In 1 Corinthians
15:33, we read, “Be not deceived:
evil communications corrupt good manners.” Never think that watching evil
stuff on the media will leave you the same. What is communicated will surely
corrupt you one way or the other. Your mind, emotions, and actions will be
affected. You need to commit yourself as a believer not to entertain anything
that is inconsistent with the Word of God. By so doing you will avoid being
corrupted.
Watching evil stuff affects you consciously and
unconsciously inside. Wrong pictures will be formed inside you. Those will be
pictures of lust, anger, immorality, strife, murder, and hatred. Do not open
yourself up to the negative spiritual power, which seeks to gain an inroad to
your life. Ephesians 4:27 says, “Neither give place to the devil.”
Allow
only good pictures into your life
The devil likes to paint evil pictures in the minds and
hearts of people. That is the reason we see most of the violence in society.
These evil pictures are sown in people from their very youthful stage as they
watch violent movies and other negative stuff. No one can be tempted by what he
does not think but what he thinks about constantly.
Hebrews
11:15 says, “And truly,
if they had been mindful of that country
from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.”
We become and do what we constantly think and talk about.
Everything you say matters. Why? It either releases God’s
power or that of the devil in your life. The devil is busy working and looking
for someone to devour according to 1
Peter 5:8, which says, “Be sober, be
vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour.”
Once the devil has succeeded blinding your mind, he will
steal, kill, and destroy you thus fulfilling his mission.
2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which
believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image
of God, should shine unto them.
Joh 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I
am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more
abundantly.
If you ignore this spiritual battle, you will be
destroyed. This battle is real so you need to actively fight and adjust
yourself accordingly in the way you think and live. Take responsibility for
your life and those who depend on you. Submit yourself to God and resist the
devil. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist
the devil, and he will flee from you.” Do not give place to the devil
through your thoughts, emotions, and actions (Ephesians 4:27).
Recognize the spiritual dynamics happening around. Your actions determine the results you experience in life. If you ignore them, Satan will destroy you. Avoid any sin in your life and going against the Word of God. Why? That will open a door to the devil. So follow God’s instructions and you will reap the desired results in your life.
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