info@ignitinghope.com
Winning the Thinking Battle in the Morning & Evening
By Steve Backlund
“And (Goliath) drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening” (1 Samuel 17:16). Our enemy wants to defeat us in our thinking, especially in the morning and evening.
This is part two of what I shared in last week’s blog called “Goliath’s Morning and Evening Taunts”.
Click here to read it.
Good sports teams understand the schemes and tendencies of their opponents. In practices before the game, they will work on their plan to defeat these strategies so they can win the game.
Our opponent, the devil, is a deceiver. He deceived Eve in the garden (Genesis 3) and has been seeking to deceive everyone ever since. Deception means what we believe is true is not true. And the nature of deception is we don’t know we are deceived
Every area of our life that does not glisten with hope is under the influence of a lie (Romans 15:13), and that is an area where we are deceived. It is often in the morning and evening that our lack of hope manifests the most. In these times, our circumstances and feelings are trying to send us a message to “mix our faith with”.
“For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them,
not being mixed with faith in those who heard it” (Hebrews 4:2). The people of the Old Testament had an opportunity to experience blessing (profit) but did not do so because they did not win the battle in their self-talk (in their thinking).
The best defense against the lies we hear is to have a good offense of consuming truth. We are not called just to resist darkness, but we are called to turn the light on in our lives. Darkness (lies) must flee if the light is on. It is similar to how they used to train people to detect counterfeit money. Bank tellers would repeatedly look at the real bills as their plan to see deceptive bills. They were not trained by studying counterfeit money. As they repeatedly looked at the real, the counterfeit would be spotted easily.
In the same way with our beliefs, as we consistently “look at” the truth concerning God’s nature, our identity as a new creation, and the benefits of the cross and resurrection, we will detect lies in our thinking more easily.
“Steve, what practically can we do to look at truth and win the battle in our thinking, especially in the morning and evening? Here are some things that help me:
“If you abide in my word, you are My disciples indeed; and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31-32).
My prayer over you today is that you will be increasingly intentional in abiding in what Jesus is saying (especially in the morning and evening). As you do, you will not only overcome deception, but you will also experience great freedom in your emotions and in your life.
About Us
Steve Backlund is a prolific encourager, catalytic author, joy activator, and revivalist teacher. He brings transformational levels of hope to churches and organizations around the world. He is uniquely gifted to release hope, joy, and healthy leadership everywhere he goes.
Podcast
Join Steve as he shares revelatory truths to help you step into freedom and experience transformation by renewing your mind (Romans 12:2).