Spiritual attack. It’s a very real thing. It is the missing piece in understanding why we sometimes feel so defeated in an area of life where we would otherwise feel energized and capable.

Spontaneous thoughts of insufficiency, offense, fear, judgment, or defeat (among others) come from unclean spirits that have rebelled against our all-good God. They whisper into our spiritual ears as invitations (temptations) for us to start a train of negative thoughts. Similarly, spontaneous thoughts of capability, forgiveness, bravery, compassion, or victory come from clean spirits that serve our all-good God. Remember: not all of your thoughts come from you! This is how Yeshua was able to be “tempted in every way and yet did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Again: having unclean thoughts in head does not mean your are sinning! Even Yeshua had those.

Remember: not all of your thoughts come from you!

-TenayBenes.com

This is why it’s so important to start identifying which thoughts come from you, which come from God, and which come from the enemy. If you can do this, you will be well on your way to learning how to conduct spiritual warfare in the battleground of your mind (conscious thoughts) and heart (subconscious thoughts). But I like to go one step further.

I have found that the enemy tends to show his hand pretty easily. Wherever God is inviting me to go, that’s exactly where the enemy attacks:

• Is God inviting me into losing these last few pounds from pregnancy now? I start immediately hearing “I’ll never be able to” thoughts.
• Is God inviting me into a new job? I start immediately hearing “I’m probably not qualified” thoughts.
• Is God inviting me into more rest? I start immediately hearing “I’ve got so much to do” thoughts.

So I started using the enemy’s schemes to my advantage. Wherever I’m getting spiritual attack in my mind, I see it as a confirmation of God’s purposes for that season. And then, I practice being bolder in that area than I’ve ever been before. This way, the enemy learns that if he attacks me in an area, he ends up making me more intentional and stronger in that area. Maybe he should just give up trying. 😉

My Challenge for You

Just for one day, pretend that what I’m saying is true. Get a piece of paper and a pencil. Write out three columns: Me, God, Enemy. Then, parse out the types of thoughts you had that day into each column using your best hunch. At the end of the day, imagine what it could be like if God wasn’t mad at you for any of the thoughts in the “Enemy” column. Rather, he was ready to give you ways to destroy that column for good! What could that be like?