by Molly Audiss

Romans 8:37, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

Football Season- I miss it already! Yes, it’s my favorite professional sport. Are you a sports fan? What I find amazing and almost comical in the evolution of pro sports, is the level of strategy—we have the men up in the booth instantly analyzing each play and each call. They are constantly talking into the headset of the team coaches on the field. The quarterback has his own series of words, movements, fake calls, leg kicks, hand motions and plays—all to confuse the other team. The coaches lift papers over their mouth when they speak, so the other team’s “spies” can’t read their lips. It’s such a mind game! Actually, it’s a lot like the battle we face each day between right and wrong.

We know that the battlefield of good and evil is waged first in our thought life. How many times have you been going about your day, and, out of nowhere, you get a fearful thought? BAM! Where did that come from? Or a worldly song will pop up in your mind, just out of the blue. Or, possibly a negative thought about a person will hit you. You weren’t even thinking about that person. Maybe it is a sinful desire—a desire to do something sinful, or to procrastinate and NOT do something we should do. Yes, it is possible that Satan’s army shot that arrow at us. But they will never know if that arrow hits it mark until we turn that thought into words or actions.

For, you know, the Devil is not omniscient. I love that! Remember that, Friends! This is a huge game-changer! He and his imps can try to place negative thoughts or sinful thoughts in my mind, but they do not know if they are winning the battle of my mind. Only God knows my thoughts. Satanic forces only know if they are influencing me when I speak or act out what I am thinking. My thought life is between God and me alone.  That is a wonderful advantage in spiritual warfare!

Smile, remember that the Devil is not able to read your thoughts, and quote a Scripture verse. Sing a spiritual song. Praise the Lord out loud. Get up and get busy. Do not allow the arrow to hit its mark. So many temptations can fall by the wayside if we simply yield to the power of the Holy Spirit at the very first moment the thought comes to us. Resist Satan, and he will flee from you. Resist him on the thought level. He will never even know that you HAD the thought until you act out or speak what you are thinking.

I love to win. I am very competitive. I love all the “secret” victories that the Holy Spirit and I have together. The Devil never even knows how many times I struggled in my mind, because only God and I knew my thoughts. Ha Ha Ha!

Satan is much smarter and more powerful than I am….but what is that when I have the power of the Holy Spirit in my life? Fake him out. “Never let him see you sweat.” It’s a fun way to walk through life, having secrets with the Lord. Remember, kill those sinful thoughts through prayer, praise, and Scripture before Satan realizes you even had them—refuse to speak aloud what you thought. Refuse to act out the sinful thought. He’ll never even know you struggled.

Score! One more win for God. One less victory for the Devil.