Today's Devotional Thought
April 12, 2011 by Rachel Piferi
My Battlefield
Every woman struggles with something in her life. Some struggle with their weight. Some struggle with their finances. Some struggle with how to balance their career and their family. Some struggle with what they are going to do with their time once their kids go to school or move away. Some struggle with their marriage.
I struggle with my thoughts.
If you were to look at my life objectively, you would think it was pretty good. I have a great husband. He has his flaws like every person does, but he loves me, he supports me, and is a wonderful man. I have three great kids, one of whom is a constant reminder of God’s power over death. I live in a beautiful area of the country, especially at this time of year as farmers are starting to plant and the earth is just ripe for new life. I have a ministry that I care about very much and get to spend my days working on it from home while my children are at school. I have a best friend who is a gift from above and who I have the privilege of working alongside in that ministry.
Life is good.
But I still struggle.
What do I struggle with, you ask? I struggle with my thoughts. You see, I have noticed that Satan can hijack my thoughts without any fair warning. I could be enjoying a beautiful day and out of nowhere something can trigger me to think something that spirals me into fear, dread, or sadness. My mind is my battlefield. And I am only just learning how to fight well on that battlefield.
I read a devotion by Joyce Meyers recently and in it, she wrote, “For most of my life, I simply thought whatever fell into my head. Much of what was in my head was either lies Satan was telling me or just plain nonsense. The devil was controlling my life because he was controlling my thoughts.??? How true that statement is about my own life. If I am not careful, I can have many days where I think and dwell on whatever falls into my head instead of controlling what I am thinking about. And I find that the days when that is most likely to happen are the days where I have very little going on. It is those idle days that truly are the devil’s workshop.
What I am beginning to learn how to do is to fill my mind with Scripture and the positive things in my life so that the negative simply cannot take up residence. I am far from achieving success in this and I imagine that it will be a lifelong struggle. But it is one that I have to be mindful of, must have an active strategy to combat, and must deliberately perform that strategy if I am going to win on the battlefield of my mind.
Do you struggle with negative thoughts? Please don’t allow yourself to think whatever falls into your head. Instead, control what you are thinking by actively placing good, positive, and Scriptural thoughts there. And please know that I have to make a decision each morning that I will fill my mind with things that are lovely, pleasant, and good or I will lose on that battlefield that day. I have had many days lost because I allowed my thoughts to just happen.
Do not lose on the battlefield of the mind today. Choose to think about what is lovely, admirable, and good and the God of peace will be with you.
December