How the Enemy Gains Access to You

Have you ever bought a car then suddenly start seeing that same car model everywhere? It's not like someone started putting more of those cars on the road - it's just that your vision changed. Now that the car model is relevant to you, your vision changed to pay attention to it. I've started paying more attention to the differences between walking in the Spirit vs walking the flesh lately because it's an issue that is highly relevant to us as disciples of Christ. Although we Christians are designed to walk in the Spirit, too often the enemy deceives us so that we continue to walk in the flesh as we don't know the Lord's power. How can he get away with that? Just this past week after meditating on Romans 6:11-13, I drew a picture of how the enemy gains access to us. I hope this picture will change your vision forever so that you see his strategy. With that revelation knowledge, you can shut him down. Below is the "polished" version of the picture. Take a moment to study it and note the difference between the supernatural and the natural. I'll explain each perspective in more detail in a moment.

Supernatural (Spirit-Led)

God speaks through our Spirit, which communicates to our soul (mind, will, and emotions). We can perceive Spiritual things only through a mind renewed to the Word of God. Think of it this way: Television and radio signals are transmitted over the air all around us. But we can't see these signals with our natural eyes, can we? The only way we can know what they are transmitting is to get a television set or radio that can translate the over-the-air signals into a picture or sound that we can perceive with our senses. In a similar way, studying and meditating on God's word transforms us Spiritually so that we can perceive what the Lord is transmitting to us. As our minds are renewed, we choose to submit our will and emotions to the Lord's purpose. Our souls can then ensure that our bodies remain under subjection to Spiritual direction so that we use them to glorify God. This is how a Christian is designed to operate.

Natural (Flesh-driven)

Here is how the enemy gets access to us - through the back door. His strategy is to bypass our Spirit and go straight for our soul (mind, will, and emotions). Because He knows that emotions often drive us, he wants to get us "all up in our feelings." He wants us to act quickly, impulsively. When he directs our attention towards that which tempts us, our desire for it increases. Driven by emotion, we choose to submit our will to that which our heart desires. Being flesh-driven means using our bodies merely to please ourselves, not to please God. That is why it is possible for a Believer in Christ to be in just as much bondage as an unbeliever. If their minds remain un-renewed to God's word, then they have the same old mind as they did when they were unsaved. As a result, they are unable to perceive God's voice when He tries to direct them to act wisely.

Living Spirit-Led

God's grace gives us the ability to overcome all power of the enemy! James 4:7 says,

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

Here is how you can put this scripture into practice:

1.Submit to God

One way of looking at submission is  "under the mission." Like a soldier puts their personal desires under the mission to protect their country, so we put our personal desires under the mission of advancing God's kingdom! You have been called for such a time as this. What an honor to have the opportunity to glorify our Lord and Savior! The more you focus your thoughts daily on glorifying God in your choices, maintaining a thankful heart, and renewing your mind to God's word, the more you can enlarge your vision to see God's handiwork in your life and hear His voice!

2. Resist the devil

The dictionary defines resistance as "the refusal to accept or comply with something; the attempt to prevent something by action or argument." Since the devil tries to gain access to you through the backdoor of your soul (mind, will and emotions), you need to shut that opening to him. How? Pay keen attention to the direction of your thoughts and emotions. Your thoughts are like little steam-powered engines. The more you direct energy into a particular train of thought, the more you'll want to go in that direction. Through deliberate attention, you can direct the steam into what you want to do and re-direct it away from what you don't want to do. While this takes work, you can set up your environment to make this easier. So question yourself: What is your will leading your body to do? Will that action steal from you, kill or destroy? Like any criminal, that is the enemy's fingerprint! If you still find it hard to discern the difference between Spirit-led or flesh-driven, then seek the Lord's help in prayer. He will honor your desire to follow Him. One of the ways to tell if a decision is from God is if the outcome will be consistent with the fruit of His Spirit. Is it one that is working in you love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control ultimately? Or does it lead to unrest, guilt, shame, condemnation, or wanting to hide? Here are 2 scriptures I recommend you mediate on to further renew your mind and enlarge your vision: Romans 6:11-13:

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God."

I also recommend meditating on Galatians 5:19-25, which describes the works of the flesh verses walking in the Spirit in detail. Ask God in prayer to open up your understanding as to how his word applies to your daily decisions. He will show you the truth because He loves you and wants His best for you! I hope my picture shows you how the enemy gains access to you clearly - through un-captured thoughts and un-managed emotions. When you learn to manage your thoughts and emotions under control of the Spirit, you can protect yourself against the enemy's influence in your life! Be blessed with health, healing, and wholeness, Kimberly Taylor Author/Christian Life Coach of the Take Back Your Temple program P.S. When it comes to weight loss, do you often know what you should do but have a hard time doing it? I struggled with this issue on my own weight loss journey, but I discovered that “Nothing is different until you think differently.” The value of the Take Back Your Temple program is that you will learn how to think differently through using Biblical keys to overcome obstacles. You’ll discover how to win the Spiritual and mental battle that often causes us to become inconsistent and get off-track on our weight loss journey. Join a community of other Christians losing weight and keep it off. Click here to learn more about the Take Back Your Temple program