The One Where God Winks

Our minds are the control centers of our entire being. Everything starts with the gazillions of neurons and cells dancing around up there. Along with all that dancing is a daily, hourly, and minute by minute spiritual war between God and the uber sneaky, lying, opponent - the devil. The good news is Satan has already been defeated by God. (Hebrews 2:14) The only trick the devil has left is deception. (Ephesians 6:11) The REALLY tricky part is keeping our minds on God and keeping the devil's tactics out of our heads daily. It truly is a daily battle and if we lose sight of the war we are in, it makes it easier for the devil to sneak in and distract us from our true focus and purpose in life.

2 Cor 10:3-5 "We are human, but we don't wage war as humans do. We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ."

Think of Peter when he was only focused on Jesus and didn't pay attention to anything else around him. He was able to walk on water OVER the waves. As soon as he changed his attention to the waters and the wind around him and took his focus off Jesus, he started to believe he was helpless and lost faith. He began to sink into and UNDER the waves. (Matt 14:28-29) We will all have waves in our lives - every single one of us. Whether we believe in Jesus or not. The difference is, when we trust in Jesus, He will bring us over the waves. I don't know about you, but I'd rather float above the waves than sink under them.

So how do we win the battle? It's easier said than done. Focus all thoughts on God. ALL thoughts. Think of God in all you do and say. Did you know that psychologists have proven that in the average person over 70% of their thoughts are negative? I don't know about you, but I don't want to be the average person. It's time to stop giving the devil control of our heads and retrain our brains. It takes practice and exercise daily which eventually will create muscle memory. Scientists have proven that positive thoughts, prayer and meditation actually physically change the brain neurologically. You can actually rewrite neural connections in your brain by changing your thought patterns. How cool is that!?!

Every bad thought the devil tries to throw in our brains stem from three categories (he's not very creative):

I'm helpless

I'm worthless

I'm unlovable

Satan's goal is to feed us any lie we will buy into that will redirect us and keep our thoughts (and ultimately our hearts) off of God. He plays mind games. His goal is to keep us from God. If we can remove his tool of lies, we will win the war. If we are struggling in an area or with thoughts that don't line up with God's Word, BRING THEM TO THE LIGHT. Talk about them, SHOUT THEM OUT with someone you trust. Holding them in gives the devil more ground to work on and keeps you trapped. If you bring the thoughts and struggles you are having to light, he will no longer have a hold on you and his plans will be demolished.

We are not helpless:

Philippians 4: 12-13 "I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." - God gives us the strength we need to get through anything we are facing. Trust the one who's holding you. He knows every situation and will carry the weight when we need Him to. We have the strongest ally on our side making sure we are never helpless and He absolutely NEVER leaves us.

We are not worthless:

1 Peter 1:18-19 "For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God." - God sent his one and only Son and He sacrificed His life so that we could live eternally and not be condemned for our sins. If you were the only person on the planet, God would have still sent his Son to die on your behalf so you would not have to suffer or be condemned for your sins. Clearly if God sees that much worth in us, nothing the devil throws at us should be able to convince us otherwise.

We are not unlovable:

Psalm 139: 13-18 "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!" - God knows us down to every single molecule. The God of the entire universe loves us, now matter what we've done or will do, God will never stop loving any single one of us. Stop and ponder how huge that is.

Romans 12:2 "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."

God places people we need in our lives at the exact moments we need them. We are placed into other people's lives at the exact moments they need us. Be there for people around you. Call out to people if you sense they are struggling. We all have struggles and will need each other from time to time. Get used to asking for help. I struggle hugely with this. If we need help, why are we so afraid to ask for it? It's another ploy from the devil to make us feel like we are all alone in the world. (worthless) We are NOT alone and we are NOT worthless. God is with us and has strategically placed people in our lives. Do not accept the devil's lies any longer. Work together and help each other to conquer the devil and his lies.

2 Timothy 2:25-26 "Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people's hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil's trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants."

What we think about, is what we become. (Proverbs 23:9) Don't let the presence of problems cause you to ignore the presence of Jesus. We will have problems and struggles in life, that's guaranteed. If you trust Jesus with all your heart, it's also guaranteed He will give you the strength and tools you need to not just endure but to conquer the struggles.

It's important to think about what you think about every minute of the day. Is the thought positive and glorifying to God? If not, change the thought - immediately! If there's a fly buzzing around in your brain, GRAB THE FLYSWATTER and squash it!

Here's the thing, if we seek out and look for the good in each day, we will find it. If we are looking for the bad in each day, we will also find it. If you choose to look for the good, you'll really start seeing it. Find peace in every day. This is a spiritual war. Claim each victory, each win, each answered prayer with victory and rejoice in those victories daily no matter how big or small they may seem.

If you take a minute to look around you at all God has brought into your life, carried you through in life, and given you in life, you'll start to see God is really winking at you. Start looking for His winks, and you'll be certain to see them in every single day.