In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith,
with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Ephesians 6:16
Recently, I was talking to a woman who said Satan had gotten a hold of her thought life. Can you relate? Have you ever struggled with dwelling upon something which seemed as if you could not overcome it?
Although part of what this woman said was true. Ephesians 6:16 warns that Satan does shoot fiery darts hoping that a spark will catch causing a raging fire within our minds to burn out of control. This woman was dismissing the fact that she had a choice in the matter. She could allow her thoughts to fan the flames or she could choose to pour Living Water on the blaze to extinguish it completely. And so can you!
You see, we have a choice in the matter. We can choose to pick up the shield of faith which extinguishes all the flaming arrows of the evil one and pour Philippians 4:8 on the wild fire within our minds as we change our thinking from what pollutes, destroys and cripples to what edifies, builds up and conquers by choosing to dwell upon “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy,” Philippians 4:8 goes on to admonish us to, “think about such things.”
If this seems to simplistic or you need more tangible application to battle the blaze the moment that the flaming arrows hit their target douse them with Living Water so that the sparks cannot ignite. You can do this by reading God’s Word or singing worship music. And if that is not enough have in your back pocket, at all times, a 3×5 card with a verse to memorize.
As you choose to change your thinking you will quench the flames within your mind. The choice is yours, which will it be, the fiery thoughts which only leave destruction in their path or true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy thoughts which lead to a peace which transcends all understanding (Philippians 4:7)? Remember, the choice is yours!
Lord, please forgive me for what I have allowed my mind to dwell upon. Forgive me for choosing to fan the flames. Lord I choose this day to pour your Living Water on the blaze and I will take the steps needed to quench the flames by changing my thinking. Lord please come along side to battle the blaze. I know with you I can do all things (Philippians 4:13). Amen!
This is a great word of encouragement. It’s so important to meditate on the truth of God’s Word.
It was nice meeting you at the conference. (I took some pictures at Mt. Hermon and put them on my blog.)
Thanks for the encouragement. I really enjoyed your critique at the conference. You have a great gift from the Lord! What’s your blog address? Perhaps some of my readers would like to check out your blog.