A few weeks ago we looked at ‘wrestling in prayer’, seeing how Jacob wrestled with God. (Gen 32) Wrestling involves exertion, considerable physical effort. It’s a tussle; it’s a struggle. Even if we’re not thinking of wrestling as a competitive sport, it’s not an easy thing to do.
The battle of the mind is a lonely battlefield. We don’t have the visible comradeship of other soldiers, sharing our fears and woes. We wrestle with thoughts on our own, often too ashamed to admit to others the things that invade our minds.
These thoughts are not always rational, though they may be dressed in fine-looking clothes. They are persuasive, dripping with honey. They urge us to do things that are contrary to God’s Word, but they are plausible liars, leading us astray. They give us reasons to justify wrong behaviour, seducing us with tones silkier than Alan Rickman’s. They undermine God’s Word and authority in our lives. They promise rewards and blessings connected with self-indulgence. ‘You will not surely die‘ is their reassuring mantra to us. ‘God will not do that…’
In order to defeat these thoughts, we must be dressed in God’s armour and must be skilled in using the sword of the Spirit, which can slice through lies and expose the hollowness within. (Eph 6:10-18, Heb 4:12) Using this sword is tiring, for it involves daily exposure to the living Word whose strength enables us to lift the sword and ‘punch above our weight.’ This battle requires daily courage and determination; as Rend Collective remark, ‘Celebration so often is a confrontation. We challenge our doubts, fears and disappointments with the joyful truths of scripture. Dig deep!’
God’s Word is able to bring direction, freedom and light to us, setting us free from the weights of the thoughts which trap us in wrong behaviour and endless circles of doubt and fear, but we must build our lives on its solid truths, rather than standing on flimsy foundations.