Meditations for a Surrendered Life
Winning Daily Spiritual Battles against the Enemy
by
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Chapter 7
Instructions for Winning Daily Spiritual Battles
Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life. –Proverbs 4:13 NLT
Introduction
The instructions for every part of a believer’s life are in the Bible. The Bible is God-breathed words that came directly from Him for us to use in every situation of life. In order to live, react, and act according to God’s Word, we must internalize God’s Word so that we do not sin against God. For the believer, a life without the instructions in God’s Word is like a life without air, food, and water. We cannot live without God’s instructions. God’s instructions give us spiritual wisdom; worldly wisdom is foolishness to God. God’s instructions further develop our relationship with God; they allow us to hear better the instructions of the Holy Spirit. God’s instructions give us peace; when we read His Word, it soothes us in the most tumultuous situations. God’s instructions correct us when we are wrong; they provide lessons and convict us through the Holy Spirit when we sin. We must have God’s instructions to live.
God not only wants us to read the instructions in His Word but also wants us to live the Word. We have to obey God’s Word if we are truly His children.
Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is. Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil…Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God. (1 John 3:6–10 NLT)
This chapter challenges us to stop taking advantage of God’s grace and truly be transformed through the admission of sin and the process of correction and purging. If we are truly God’s children, we do what is right, and we are righteous when we follow God’s instructions. God’s seed is in us, and we cannot continue to live in sin, because we have been born of God. We must heed the instructions in His Word. It is not enough to read His instructions and follow some of them. God is calling us higher in Him. We must ask the Holy Spirit to transform us even more into the image of God and to help us follow God’s instructions.
The chapter on instructions includes meditations that God has given me on general instructions for life as well as specific instructions for specific groups. The chapter has been divided into the following five sections: “Instructions for All,” “Instructions for Women” including single wives and married wives, “Instructions for Men,” “Instructions for Married Couples,” and “Instructions for Parents.” It is my prayer that we begin to love instructions. God’s Word says, “To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction” (Proverbs 12:1 NLT).
Instructions for All
Spiritual Warfare in Action
We are playing a perpetual game against the enemy. He has a strategy. He sets up defensive plays for each individual player on our team (the team of believers). We need to make the Holy Spirit our point guard and have some key defensive plays of our own; the enemy will never win.
The best coach in the world, Coach Kerwin “Buck” Harris, shared with me one of the strategic defensive plays he used with the Lucy C. Laney Wildcats boys’ basketball team of Augusta, Georgia, called “Black.” Implementing “Black” requires the defensive players to double-team a key opposing player. It’s two versus one. Ponder that for a moment.
Now let’s visualize this with our spiritual minds. When the two defensive players on the same team double up on the opponent (the enemy), he is unable to move, pass, or score. Stay with me. Sometimes, to defeat the enemy it takes two or more players on the same team working together, praying together, fasting together, walking in purpose together, holding each other accountable, and blocking the enemy with the Word of God.
I’m telling you that the enemy is after our minds with everything he has. But James 4:7 says, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (NLT). Every time Satan takes a shot, we don’t just want to block him; we want to team up against the devil and block him together. Now that’s resistance. The devil wants a shot at our peace, the gift God has given to us for believing in Him. But he can’t have it.
The attacks on the mind are real. Please recognize the game Satan is playing, or you won’t be prepared to win. Don’t let the enemy catch you off your game. Every time we have a thought that doesn’t line up with God’s Word, we cannot stand idly by and do nothing. Get with another defensive player and begin to pray and speak with one accord. Double up to block the enemy—two versus one.
• A shot at our children—block it. • A shot at our relationships—block it. • A shot at our finances—block it. • A shot at our peace of mind—block it.Be mindful of the enemy’s favorite gym floor–our minds. How many tourneys will we let him have in our minds? The whistle blows. Time–out. Get in the huddle. Head Coach God calls us to the huddle, the Holy Spirit point guard by his side. As we all move in closely for our pep talk, He simply says, “Because of Jesus, my co–coach, we will get the W, because the victory has already been won.” +
Do we have fleshly desires? Yes. That’s why the Word says that we have to die to the flesh daily. We have underestimated the demonic spirits (such as marine spirits, incubus, succubus, and spirits of lust) that have attached themselves to us through our sins of the flesh (adultery, fornication, pornography, some music, sex, masturbation, sex toys, homosexuality, outlandish experimenting, and so forth). This isn’t a game. You know how hard it has been for us to leave some people and some sins alone. Why? Demonic spiritual attachments.
How do we detach? Because of the things we’ve allowed to enter our bodies, our hearts, our minds, our ears, and our eyes over the years, we have to do more than pray to detach. Dispelling those spirits requires repenting, renouncing, praying, fasting, focusing on God, and moving away from temptation and toward God to detach ourselves.
• Repent. • Renounce. • Pray. • Fast. • Focus on God. • Move toward God. • Repeat all six over and over until even the thought of going back makes you sick.Then keep on following these steps. +
God instructs us to abide by His Word so that we will know the truth and the truth shall make us free. Free from what? Free from the bondage of sin and the evil one. The Word of God is truth. The opposite of truth is lies and deception, we must put on spiritual armor, the belt of God’s truth.
Believers in order to be free, we have to read and study the Word of God daily, period. We must have spiritual wisdom to get free and stay free. We can’t fight the kinds of spiritual battles with which we’re faced without knowing the “truth.” Satan can and will continue to manipulate, deceive, and shock believers with His attacks if we can’t combat him with God’s truth.
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About the Book
Each day we are confronted by attacks from the enemy—Satan. The temptations he sets before us can seem insurmountable at times. We know God will support us in our battles against Satan, but often we do not know how to ask God for help.
In her book Meditations for a Surrendered Life: Winning Daily Spiritual Battles against the Enemy, author Dr. Jené Elaine Walker, affectionately known as “Dr. J.” by her friends on social media, uses her life experiences and even weaknesses to speak to the needs of God’s people. Her writing is aligned with the Word of God and inspired by the Holy Spirit. Walker’s debut book is a compilation of writings God has used to bless so many across the world through social media. The author insists that daily, moment-by-moment communion with God helps us overcome the enemy’s attacks. She touches on the gamut of a believer’s daily struggles, from dealing with fleshly desires to winning the constant battles between the natural and the spirit realms.
Meditations for a Surrendered Life: Winning Daily Spiritual Battles against the Enemy provides daily, thought-provoking writings and sayings to help you navigate a world infested with sin and an enemy on a never-ending prowl for victims. Refer to the book any time to encourage you in your faith and to provide you with instructions for living a surrendered life and for winning daily spiritual battles.
About the Author
Dr. Jené “Dr. J.” Elaine Walker earned a master’s degree, an educational specialist degree in educational leadership, and a doctorate degree of education in curriculum and instruction. She has held numerous positions in the Richmond County educational system. The mother of one son, Walker is a licensed minister at Elim Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia. She is a much sought after speaker who travels to preach, teach, and facilitate workshops, conferences, television shows, and radio shows.