Listen to the Apostle Paul as he urges the Corinthians, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)

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Our ‘fight’ this side of eternity is not passive and our enemy is real. True surrender to Christ doesn’t leave us wimpy losers that wallow in our sad situation as victims. Nowhere in Scripture do I see believers helplessly grumbling about their lot in life except when grossly disobedient. Our weapons are real and forged in heaven, mighty for battle in active confrontation. They are divinely powerful for a distinctive purpose. By faith we are to rise up, filled with the Spirit of God to fulfill the purpose that He has placed in our soul.

What is our chief enemy? Paul explains God’s initial plan for us—the destruction of fortresses. Fortresses are strongholds, false beliefs about God, His love for us that is beyond our understanding, and the lies of the enemy that get us to doubt it. This is our daily battle. The enemy wants nothing more than to have us doubt God’s love, question His goodness, and submit to anything other than truth. This was the original sin, the root of all sin and the wedge of separation, “Did God really say? Did He really mean…?”

It takes a WORK of faith to ward off the subtle, quiet, whispering lies that coax us to drift slowly, silently further from this truth. We, like our forefathers are easily seduced by the serpent to doubt God’s infinite love and desire for our good. We are tempted to trust in our own warped sense of good versus evil, defining our circumstance as ‘bad’ because it is undesirable and choosing to take action that is fleshly, instead of trusting God.

Nevertheless, we are called to pull down such imaginations; they are billows of smoke that blind our view. These lies to which we give power rise in our heart; we exercise them and make them stronger by dwelling on them, speaking to our heart and make them real. May it not be so! They are lies lifted up against the knowledge of God, and when we allow this to happen, our view of God gets smaller, more fuzzy, and clouded by sin. This is our fight! Bring every thought into captivity; actively choose that you will trust and surrender to no one but Christ.