That"s a good example of how our words can tear down others. But we can also uplift others with our words. When we focus on the good, we see in people and tell them, we may well be G.o.d"s messenger to them.
For example, I"ve stood in front of a crowd and spoken many times. Because I have victory, they a.s.sume I"m always in victory, and that I never have to struggle the way they do. Sometimes a person will come to me and say, "Joyce, G.o.d really used you tonight. I came here discouraged and kept asking G.o.d what I should do. Right in the middle of your teaching, I heard G.o.d speak through you."
Those are pleasant words-as sweet as a honeycomb. Those people who speak to me are often unaware of how hard I"ve fought the enemy and struggled to free my mind from his influence. When they tell me what a blessing I"ve been to them, they often don"t sense how much their words mean to me.
Everyone needs to hear pleasant and healing words. It"s too easy to a.s.sume certain people don"t have the same struggles or severe battles that we experience. All of us struggle, and for some, it"s worse than for others. I believe that the more G.o.d wants to use us, the more forcefully Satan exerts his power against us.
We can help each other. When we sincerely speak pleasant words, healing words, we are not only diffusing our enemy"s power, but we are building up one another. We need to build up others as much as we need others to encourage us.
I can remember times when I"ve wanted to say a kind word to someone, and I would think, Oh, she knows that. She"s heard that before. Then I would say to myself, Yes, maybe she knows, and perhaps she"s heard it before, but she hasn"t heard it from me. It"s not that my words are better than anyone else"s, but it is the Holy Spirit who takes our words, anoints them, and brings healing and help to others.
What if each of us decided, I am G.o.d"s servant to bring healing words to wounded and hurting hearts? What if G.o.d chose us to strengthen and build up people by speaking soothing, kind, and thoughtful words to them? Not only do we put the devil to flight, but our friends" joy soars, and ours does, too-because we"ve been used as G.o.d"s instruments of healing. I learned long ago that it takes so little to do so much good. Often it"s only a word of encouragement, a hug, or just saying the words, "I care."
Holy Spirit of G.o.d, please remind me of the words that dwell inside me. Remind me to hold on to the good, the kind, and the uplifting thoughts, and empower me to push away those that can hurt and tear down others-and myself. I ask this through Jesus Christ. Amen.
82.
Pa.s.sive Minds Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him].
-EPHESIANS 4:27 Perhaps the best way to interpret these words of the apostle Paul is to say it this way: Don"t give the devil an opportunity. There are many ways we actually give the devil an opening to pounce on us. One of those ways involves being pa.s.sive.
To be pa.s.sive is the opposite of being active. This can be a dangerous problem because it means you aren"t on guard, you aren"t actively standing up, and you aren"t alert. One of the devil"s most deceiving tricks is to get you to do nothing and to feel content about it.
I have found a wide variety of definitions for the word pa.s.sive, but I describe it as a lack of feeling, a lack of desire, apathy, laziness, and lukewarmness. It is what John referred to when he wrote to the church at Laodicea: "I know your [record of] works and what you are doing; you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot!" (Revelation 3:15).
It reminds me of something someone told me years ago. "I"ve been a good Christian today," he said. "I haven"t hurt anyone or done anyone any harm."
In a moment of insight, I said, "But have you done any good for anyone?"
He stared at me for several seconds before he said, "I guess I never thought of it that way. I was so concerned about not doing anything wrong, that I never thought about doing anything good."
That"s one of the tricks the devil plays on our minds. All we need to do is read the Bible to find out what G.o.d says. Paul wrote to Timothy: "That is why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of G.o.d [the inner fire] that is in you by means of the laying on of my hands [with those of the elders at your ordination]. For G.o.d did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control" (2 Timothy 1:6-7). Paul told his young disciple to shake himself up and do something-which is good for us to consider, as well. Paul urged us to get moving and start using the gifts G.o.d has given us.
The devil knows that inactivity, laziness, or failure to exercise our will for doing good can throw us into ultimate defeat. As long as we move against the devil, we can win the battle. When we do nothing, we become his prime target. It"s when we get stirred into action, and pa.s.sionate about faith, and zealous to follow G.o.d that we can destroy all the devil"s influence.
Peter wrote to the persecuted believers of his day: "Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour. Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset-rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined]" (1 Peter 5:8-9a).
I stress this because I see many believers who don"t feel pa.s.sionate about anything, so they don"t do anything. They attend worship services and praise the Lord if they feel like it. They read their Bibles if they have the energy and time. If they don"t feel like doing something, they just don"t do it.
That"s not G.o.d"s way. We need to stir ourselves up-the way Paul urged Timothy. I"ll use myself as an example to ill.u.s.trate what I mean. I don"t really enjoy physical exercise that much, but the more I exercise, the easier it gets and the better I feel. It was pretty tough when I first started the program. In fact, it hurt. I was sore. I ached all over, and I wanted to quit. I"d been so inactive (pa.s.sive) for so long about physical exercise that it was painful! And my physical condition only worsened as long as I did nothing about it. But exercising consistently eventually paid off.
Let me encourage you to stir yourself. Get active. You don"t want to give place to the devil by doing nothing. If you make the effort to praise and to read the Bible, you give G.o.d the opportunity to bless you. If you don"t make the effort, you are inviting the enemy into your life. Get moving! Start today.
G.o.d, help me to stir myself up, especially on those days when I don"t feel pa.s.sionate. Help me remember that it is an act of the will that You honor. In the name of Jesus, help me to stay vigilant and active-and that means being victorious, as well. Amen.
83.
Overcoming Pa.s.sivity [Jesus said]
When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it roams through waterless places in search [of a place] of rest (release, refreshment, ease); and finding none it says, I will go back to my house from which I came. And when it arrives, it finds [the place] swept and put in order and furnished and decorated. And it goes and brings other spirits, seven [of them], more evil than itself, and they enter in, settle down, and dwell there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.
-LUKE 11:24-26 This word from Jesus can be frightening. His purpose for the warning is not to cause us to cringe and worry about unclean spirits coming back. It"s a warning to tell us that it"s not enough to get rid of wrong thoughts-we must keep the door locked so our enemy can"t return. Not only does evil come back, but it comes back worse than before.
I once read an article about diets, and the author said that most people who diet actually lose weight-until they stop dieting. Then they regain the weight they lost and about 5 percent more. When they stop working at the problem, they not only stop losing, but they"re worse than before they started. The author went on to say that the only way to win the battle of being overweight is to make a lifestyle change-by becoming aware of the danger areas and guarding ourselves against making wrong choices.
It works that way spiritually, as well. One way to keep wrong thoughts out of your mind is to keep the mind active and alert and full of right things. You can cast out the devil, but then you must remain alert, always aware of his tricks.
As I point out in my book Battlefield of the Mind, there are aggressive sins (or sins of commission) and there are pa.s.sive sins (sins of omission).4 That is, there are things we do that hurt a relationship, such as speaking careless words. But it is just as true that we hurt relationships by the omission of kind words, those thoughtful words that express appreciation, affection, or awareness of kind deeds others have done.
When confronted, pa.s.sive individuals yell, "But I didn"t do anything!" That"s exactly the point. It"s what they don"t do. Their lack of action actually invites the devil back into their lives.
That"s a strong statement, so I will say it a different way. You can win any time you take action and push away the thoughts and desires that don"t come from G.o.d. You may do this on your own through prayer, reading the Bible, or even by resisting the pa.s.sivity that may be natural for you. But once you"ve been set free, that"s only the beginning. It"s not just one victory that lasts forever. It"s an ongoing battle-it"s constantly rebuking the devil.
The best, easiest, and most effective way to rebuke the devil is to fill your mind and your heart with praises to G.o.d. When you worship and praise G.o.d, you"ve slammed the door in the enemy"s face and put up a "No Trespa.s.sing" sign.
I don"t want to make it sound as if you have to fight demons every second of your life. That"s a trick of the devil himself to make you think like that. But when you fill your life with praise and positive, healthy thoughts, you can live in victory.
Please read this verse again-aloud-and hear the message of the Holy Spirit: "Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don"t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise" (Philippians 4:8 CEV).
Victory over pa.s.sivity is just that simple: Focus your mind on the good and you will have no s.p.a.ce left for the pa.s.sive or the bad.
G.o.d, thank You for showing me the way to win over pa.s.sivity and live in victory every day. In the name of Jesus, I ask You to remind me each day so that I can fill my mind and heart with only worthy thoughts. Amen.
84.
Right Action Follows Right Thinking Do not be conformed to this world (this age) [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new att.i.tude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of G.o.d, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].
-ROMANS 12:2 A friend once talked about a church building their congregation had bought. "Function follows form," he said, as he explained that the shape of the building and the size of the rooms had already determined how they could best use the building.
As I thought about it, I realized that"s exactly how our lives work. Once we decide the form, the function follows. This could be stated another way by saying, once we set our minds to something-that"s the form-the function, or the action, follows.
Too many people want to change their actions but not their thoughts. They want to be free from anger, gossip, l.u.s.t, dishonesty, or lying. They want the bad behavior to stop, but they don"t want to change their bad thinking.
The principle of G.o.d"s Word is simple: Right action follows right thinking. None of us ever walks in victory unless we understand and put this principle into practice. We won"t change our behavior until we change our way of thinking.
Many people struggle over trying to do the right thing. One woman told me that she had been a real gossip-not that her words were always evil, but she just liked to talk. It was as if she felt compelled to be the first person to know anything and then to pa.s.s it on as quickly as possible. She struggled with holding back or saying less, and it didn"t work.
My advice to her was, "Until you change your way of thinking, you won"t be free." Then I said I would be glad to pray for her, but added, "You must be accountable."
"I am-and I will be-" she interrupted.
"No, you haven"t heard me. You want deliverance from all the gossip, but you don"t want to make any changes in your thinking. It just doesn"t work that way. You need deliverance in your mind; then your words and actions will change."
She resisted my words, but she did ask me to pray for her, which I did. When I finished, she began to cry. "As you prayed, I understood. G.o.d showed me how insignificant and unimportant I feel. When I"m the first to pa.s.s on information, it makes me feel good-at least for a while-and important."
She had been asking us to pray for her to change her behavior, but she still wanted to feel good about what she did. She had to shift her thinking and learn to accept that she was worthwhile and loved by G.o.d just for being who she was. Once she learned to change her way of thinking-and she did over a course of weeks-she no longer had a problem with her tongue.
It"s impossible to change wrong behavior to right behavior without an att.i.tude adjustment, which means that first we change the way we think.
I like the way Paul taught in Ephesians 4. He contrasted the old nature with the renewed mind. He admonished his readers: "Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through l.u.s.ts and desires that spring from delusion; And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual att.i.tude], and put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in G.o.d"s image, [G.o.dlike] in true righteousness and holiness (4:22-24).
Another translation puts it this way: "Let the Spirit change your way of thinking, and make you into a new person. You were created to be like G.o.d, and so you must please him and be truly holy" (4:23-24 CEV).
There it is: Let the Holy Spirit change your way of thinking. That"s the only way you can make permanent changes in your life.
Holy Spirit, thank You for Your ability to help me change my thinking. Help me strip myself of the old ways of thinking so that You can work in me to make me more like Jesus Christ. It"s in His name that I pray. Amen.
85.
The Mind of Christ For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.
-1 CORINTHIANS 2:16 This verse overwhelms many people. If these were not the words of the Bible, they wouldn"t believe it. As it is, most people shake their heads and ask, "How can this be?"
Paul was not saying we"re perfect or that we"ll never fail. He was telling us, as believers in Jesus, the Son of G.o.d, we are given the mind of Christ. That is, we can think spiritual thoughts because Christ is alive within us. We no longer think the way we once did. We begin to think as He did.
Another way to look at this is to point to the promise G.o.d spoke through Ezekiel: "A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall heed My ordinances and do them. And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you shall be My people, and I will be your G.o.d" (Ezekiel 36:26-28).
G.o.d gave that promise through the prophet when the Jews were in exile in Babylon. He wanted to show them that their present situation was not the end. They had sinned and failed Him in every conceivable way, but He would not abandon them. Instead, He would change them. He would give them a new spirit-His Holy Spirit.
When we have the Holy Spirit living and active within us, the mind of Christ is in action. The mind of Christ is given to us to direct us in the right way. If we have His mind, we will think positive thoughts. We will think about how blessed we are-how good G.o.d has been to us. I realize I"ve already written about the importance of being positive, but I"m not sure that enough can ever be said about the power of being positive.
Jesus was positive, in spite of being lied about, lonely, misunderstood, and a mult.i.tude of other negative things. He was deserted by His disciples when He needed them most, yet He remained positive-always able to offer an uplifting, encouraging word. Just being in His presence would suggest that all fear, negative thoughts, and discouraging hopelessness would evaporate into thin air.
The mind of Christ in us is positive. So when we fall for the opportunity to be negative about something, we should instantly discern that we are not operating with the mind of Christ. G.o.d wants us to be lifted up. It"s the enemy of our soul who wants us pressed down-depressed. Except for a medical reason, I do not think it is possible to be depressed without being negative. We have many opportunities to think negative thoughts, but that is not the mind of Christ at work in us. We don"t have to accept those thoughts. They are not ours!
Every situation that presents itself gives us an opportunity to make a choice. It"s obvious, of course, that we can choose the good or the bad.
What we often forget is that we choose the bad or the wrong without conscious thought. We follow old patterns-or the old mind-and not the mind of Christ. As G.o.d promised the Jews through Ezekiel"s prophecy, He will give us a new heart and a new spirit, but we still have the power to choose which mind we want to follow.
Lord, I truly want to be aware of the mind of Christ in my life, and I want to be aware of it every minute of my waking day. Help me to open myself only to Your will and to push away the old mindsets, the thinking that will lead me down the wrong path. I ask this through Jesus Christ. Amen.
86.
Go with G.o.d"s Flow Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever]. [That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to G.o.d, for it does not submit itself to G.o.d"s Law; indeed it cannot. So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appet.i.tes and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy G.o.d, or be acceptable to Him. But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy] Spirit of G.o.d [really] dwells wihin you [directs and controls you].
-ROMANS 8:6-9A G.o.d"s Word makes it clear. If you follow the carnal mind-the natural, unregenerated mind-it leads to death. But if you are spiritually minded, which means the Spirit of G.o.d lives in you and you heed what He tells you to do, you are alive and you walk with G.o.d.
The choice is yours. You can travel down the river of least resistance and let the undertow pull you wherever it wants. Or you can choose to go with G.o.d"s flow. We call that walking in the Spirit, or living the mind of Christ.
I have several suggestions for teaching you how to flow in the mind of Christ. The first is to develop positive thoughts. For many people, that doesn"t happen naturally. It"s easy for your mind to sink to the lowest level and think the worst of people. Instead, you can train yourself to think positively. "Do two walk together except they make an appointment and have agreed?" asks Amos 3:3. If you walk with Christ, you can think Christ-like thoughts. You can see the good in others and lift them up.
Think of Jesus, who was betrayed by His disciple Judas, was lied about by the priests, and was denied by Peter-yet He never turned negative or bitter. He was always the One who said to people, "Go on your way and from now on sin no more" (John 8:11). In the midst of those voices that cried out, "Crucify him," He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34a).
Because the mind of Christ is positive, whenever your thoughts turn negative, you can be sure you are not going with G.o.d"s flow. You"re not operating by G.o.d"s power or His Spirit.
Think of it this way: G.o.d wants to lift you up and help you focus upward toward the heavens; the devil wants to press you down so you"ll focus downward toward the earth.
A second thing you can do is to remind yourself that you are loved. Jesus loved you so much that He died for you-for you. "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is (springs) from G.o.d; and he who loves [his fellowmen] is begotten (born) of G.o.d and is coming [progressively] to know and understand G.o.d [to perceive and recognize and get a better and clearer knowledge of Him]. . . . In this is love: not that we loved G.o.d, but that He loved us" (1 John 4:7, 10).
Sometimes you may need to say to yourself, I am loved. G.o.d loves me because He created me. There is an old saying: "G.o.d never created any junk," and that means that everything He created was good-including you. If you focus your thoughts on G.o.d"s love, you will never go astray.
When I first began Joyce Meyer Ministries, G.o.d told me to teach the people that He loves them. Too often, we miss this obvious message in the Bible. We look at our imperfections and ask, "How could G.o.d possibly love me?" G.o.d looks at each of us through eyes of pure love and asks, "How could I not love you? You are mine."
No matter how often you have failed or how weak you are, G.o.d holds out to you the wonderful a.s.surance in the words of Paul: "For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor princ.i.p.alities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of G.o.d which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).
That"s the message: Nothing can separate you from G.o.d"s love. The more you meditate on G.o.d"s love for you, the more easily you will flow in His love.
G.o.d, I want to walk as close to You as I possibly can. Help me keep my mind on healthy, positive things. Remind me that I am loved-totally and completely loved-by You, and help me to go with Your flow. In Jesus" name, I pray. Amen.
87.
Fear Not!