Fighting the Enemy’s Lies

Your mind can get you into big trouble, especially when you believe the enemy’s deceptions. That is why fighting the enemy’s lies is a critical strategy for Spiritual warfare victory against emotional and other eating issues!

Here is the ‘lies of the enemy verse’ in which the Bible warns us:

…He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”

– John 8:44

Here is one way I took lying thoughts captive once.

I had a stressful day – one of those days in which it did not feel good to be in a body!

I received some bad news. My head hurt and muscle tension made me uncomfortable.

Then, the enemy’s lies came calling. He suggested that the way out of my anxiety was to go get a cookie.

Now in the old days, I would not have questioned that “solution.” I would have just gone for it!

But this time, I asked myself 1 crucial question:

“Would that help this problem?”

No, it would not. The problem would still be there after the cookie was gone, in spite of the enemy’s lies that I could escape it.

Plus, eating the cookie would only hijack my brain, making me want to eat more. That would just add a new problem on top on the old one!

In the end, I did not go get a cookie. I prayed and had a talk with my heavenly Daddy about the problem.

He gave me a new perspective and a solution to the problem!

When you face emotional upsets, the most natural thing to do is to go to the last place of known comfort.

For those who suffer from emotional eating, that usually means going back “into the food”!

However as believers in Jesus, we have the mind of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 2:16).

That is supernatural power!

The Mind of Christ

What was the main thing on Jesus’ mind?

Jesus had a one-track mind to:

• Obey the Father’s will, knowing the Father loved Him and that God’s plans were for good
• Fulfill the Father’s purpose in His life. Dedication to His purpose guided Jesus’ daily decisions, even the difficult ones.

In Luke 2:49 when He was just 12 years-old, Jesus said to His parents:

“Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business (see Luke 2:49)?”

Through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection, He accomplished His purpose: He made it possible for we who believe in Him to have everlasting life.

• We are new creations in Him.
• We have the opportunity to know God the Father and Jesus Christ personally through our daily experience.
• We are now part of God’s royal family and now have many Spiritual brothers and sisters!

Why you Cannot Disappoint God

Many Believers believe that they disappoint God when they make mistakes or fall short. However, this is an enemy lie designed to keep Christians in bondage to destructive habits.

Consider the following scripture, Psalm 139:1-6:

O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.

The reason we cannot disappoint God is because He is Omniscient (all knowing), Omnipresent (all present), and Omnipotent (all powerful). The Lord’s character of Omniscience is that He knows about the mistakes we make before we do!

That is why we cannot disappoint Him. Disappointment implies someone had expectations of a person and are surprised when those expectations are not met (missed appointment).

However, God knows everything; He knows things about us that we don’t know about us!

Not only does the Lord know about our mistakes before we make them, He has a plan for our recovery from them. His grace provides the wisdom and strengthen we need to overcome.

It is God’s work within us that helps us overcome. In that way, the Lord gets the glory, not us!

Why Sin Doesn’t Reign Over Believers

We may sin as believers in Jesus, but sin no longer reigns over us as it once did. God’s grace gives us power to do what we could not do B.C. (before Christ).

We were once dead in sin, but now alive in Christ!

Here are 2 reasons we have victory over sin through God’s grace:

• We have God’s Spirit in our hearts (2 Corinthians 1:22). Through the Holy Spirit, God’s strength is made perfect through our weakness.
• We sow God’s word into our minds (Romans 12:2). God’s word instructs us about God’s will in every situation so we have a guidebook for our daily decisions

When the enemy tried to tempt Jesus to turn stone into bread after Jesus had fasted for 40 days, Jesus used God’s word:

“But Jesus answered him, saying, ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”

In this statement, Jesus says that God’s word is as important to us as the food we eat.

Without God’s word, we won’t learn how to think God’s way. We need a mind makeover to make better decisions.

In my case when tempted with the cookie, I used God’s word to make wise decisions:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7

I recognized that anxiety was the emotion I was having. God’s solution for anxiety is prayer and thanksgiving. So I decided to practice those things rather than eat a cookie when I wasn’t hungry.

Once I did those things in the midst of my anxiety, God’s peace came to me – just as His word promised!

Do you see how this works?

Renewing your Mind to God’s Truth

When you learn how to manage your emotions God’s way, you learn to live in the Lord’s peace and joy so that you can do the work He has called you to do, without old habits weighing you down.

The Lord says in Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Your mind makeover allows you to operate as a new creation in Jesus, a thriving member of His body.

When you fight the enemy’s lie through the truth in God’s word, you overcome through Christ Jesus!

Be Blessed with Health, Healing, and Wholeness,

Kimberly Taylor

Author/Christian Life Coach of the Take Back Your Temple Weight Loss Community

P.S. Do you struggle with overeating sugar? If so, you are not alone!

Overcoming sugar addiction was a key factor on my weight loss journey; I lost 85 pounds and dropped from a size 22 to an 8.

In our 14-day Sugar Detox Challenge online course (inside the Take Back Your Temple Community), you’ll get the same success strategies and support to gain peace in your eating habits and achieve lasting weight loss.

Click here to learn more about the Take Back Your Temple Christian Weight Loss Community.