Silencing the Lies Behind Every Battle You FaceSample

The Mind-Mouth Connection

If you recall from yesterday, the enemy uses arguments and opinions in his sneaky way of getting into you. Once you recognize them, it is crucial to capture these negative thoughts and teach them truth (see 2 Corinthians 10:5).

There are two ways to deal with negative thoughts. The first is a defensive method of confronting the thought with the truth of Scripture in the moment. A fearful thought about something in the future, for example, should be confronted by thinking on a verse related to fear. Hebrews 13:6 is a great one: “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear.”

Consider this process as you would an arrest. The negative thought is an intruder, and God’s truths are the handcuffs. The instant you think the truth, the lie is arrested. It is put into submission before it can affect the rest of you. Truth does not only evict the lie. It also begins to teach your mind the proper way of thinking according to your position in Christ.

Even better than always being on the defense is learning how to minimize negative thoughts before they influence you. You do this through a proactive method of thinking on truth intentionally and regularly. The Bible calls this “the renewing of your mind,” and its goal is to reprogram your brain toward positivity (see Romans 12:2). This is the method of real, lasting transformation.

The apostle Paul instructed how to do this: “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right. . . . Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8, NLT). The concept Paul encourages is not a fleeting thought of something positive. It is an intentional meditation on God’s truths and what they mean about you, about God and His character, and about your situations today.

Of course, reflecting upon truth in your mind is important, but speaking truth in a personalized way is especially powerful for cementing it into you. And it is easy to do. Once you reflect upon the scripture in your mind, then rephrase your reflection into a personal declaration that you speak aloud.

Throughout the day or at the end of the day, come back to your reflection and your personal declaration. Remember, just as it takes weeks to form a new habit, so it will take time and intention with this process to transform your mind enough to see results. But as promised in Scripture and demonstrated through science, when you change your thoughts, you change your life.

Victory in your battles depends on aligning your mind and mouth with God’s truths. With this foundation, you are now ready to shut down the enemy’s most common and crippling lies.