the Hell in our Heads

I have noticed an unprecedented amount of God's people battling for clear, concise, and godly thoughts.

I will admit I am at the top of this list.

God has opened some pretty cool doors for me...

He allows me the opportunity to facilitate ladies bible studies through our church.

He also allows me to serve as a lay counselor at an incredible Christ-based Resource center here in town.

More recently a new and completely surprising door opened for me to do one-on-one Chaplain visits at our local jail. (only with women:)

These roles allow me to meet with lots and lots of women.
Across the board the ladies I get to know are vastly different in age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, educational background and religious upbringing.  I know women who love Jesus with every fiber of their being and I hug the necks of strippers, addicts and prostitutes who have lost every semblance of hope.

Here is an observation...

A lot of women are walking around battling hell in their heads.

As I listen to godly ladies from bible study tell their stories...they battle discouraging thoughts in their minds.
As I counsel ladies in crisis ....they battle debilitating thoughts in their minds.
As I meet with women in the jail....they battle the exact. same. thing.

Thoughts are powerful.

They are invisible to the eye yet they dictate much of how we act.
Thoughts cannot speak for themselves yet they work their way out of our mouths and usually into trouble.
Thoughts, if left unchecked, can be incredibly dangerous.

The enemy of our soul knows that as believers we have an eternal home in Heaven with Jesus.
We will not know the torment of hell.

Yet many of us have allowed the torment of hell into our heads....

This internal mind battle keeps us paralyzed by fear, held captive in the clutches of comparison, worn down and frazzled with weariness.

Most of us are doing good to guzzle down a cup of coffee (or 5) and press through our day.

Meanwhile our enemy has accomplished the second best way of bringing us to ruin and rendering us ineffective.

He simply whispers lies to us and we mindlessly believe them.

Another observation from women across the board is that we seem too tired...too stretched thin...or too distracted to really even notice the severity of our own legs being cut out from underneath us.

The enemy has our number.

He certainly has mine.

If you want be zapped of energy~ keep cycling those thoughts.
If you want to embrace depression~ then continue to be deceived.
If you want to feel like you are going crazy ~then give those thoughts a place to take root.
If you want to quench faith in your life~ believe how you feel instead.

This is how many believers live their lives.

BUT hell was vanquished for us on the cross of Calvary.
When Jesus rose from the grave victorious....our victory was in tact as well.

So let's not just be saved from a literal hell.

Let's be also saved from an internal one as well.

Just as our eternal security is determined by faith in Jesus.
Ongoing daily strength and security is determined the same way.

Faith.

It takes faith to rejects lies.
It takes faith in Jesus to trust that His Word is truth.
It takes faith to fight for freedom in your mind.


"For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.  We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete."  
2 Corinthians 10: 3-6

Faith moves us to action.

Faith helps us wage war with divine power that CAN destroy strongholds.

Faith gives us courage to recognize arguments and lofty opinions IN OUR MINDS that attempt to raise themselves against the knowledge of Almighty God.

Faith pushes us to take thoughts of our flesh captive.

Faith isn't afraid of repentance.

Faith surrenders in obedience.

Faith fights the hell in our heads and it will win.

We must choose it.

Over and over and over again.....