Guard Your Mind | Standing Against The Enemy's Tactics

There is a quote that says a defeated Christian either does not know the power and authority they hold in Christ, or they do not understand the tactics of the enemy they are up against.

Now I know that sounds like an oxymoron. How can defeated and Christian possibly exist in the same sentence? Romans 8:37 tells us that we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us, and 1 Corinthians 15:57 tells us that God has given us the victory through Christ Jesus. And yet, the words can coexist. Because victory is not always walked in, even by those who possess it.

When I say defeated Christian, I do not mean someone who looks broken and beaten down, or overcome with the trials of life. It looks more like this: knowing you have a purpose but refusing to walk in it. Knowing you have a new identity in Christ but still living in alignment with the old one. Knowing God has called you to walk in holiness but conforming to the ways of the world instead. In essence, a defeated Christian is one who does not walk in the power and authority that they have in Christ.

And in today's blog, I want to focus on the enemy we so often underestimate. Because you cannot fight an enemy you do not know.

We first encounter the enemy in Genesis 3 as the serpent, but Isaiah 14:12-15 gives us insight into his origin. He was Lucifer, an angel of the highest order. He did not begin as evil. He was created by God, and like everything God makes, he was good. But pride entered him. He desired to be God rather than serve God, and as a result he was cast down from heaven.

John 10:10 describes his character plainly. He comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. He wants to steal our identity, our purpose, and our blessings. He wants to kill us not by ending our lives, but rather using us as an offering for his own purposes rather than God's. And ultimately, he wants to destroy us by bringing us to complete and utter ruin.

This has been his agenda since the beginning. With Adam and Eve, he was able to steal their purpose, make them an offering to his own ends, and bring ruin not just to them but to all of mankind. Because of the fall, we were all born into sin, separated from God, and destined for eternal condemnation.

Thankfully, if we have declared that Jesus is Lord, this is no longer our reality. Through Jesus Christ, we have been saved from sin, reconciled back to God, and given eternal life. We have been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of God. And because we now stand in direct opposition to Satan, he shifts his strategy. Since he could not keep us blinded, he will do the next best thing and stop us from walking in the power and authority we have in Christ. And this is where understanding his tactics becomes essential.

1) He Is A Liar

John 8:44 tells us that the devil is a liar. But the most important thing we must understand is his lies are rarely obvious, because he is very, very deceitful. Deception is not an outright lie. It is a deliberate distortion of the truth, designed to make us believe something false.

When Satan lies, he often gives us 99% truth with a 1% lie. Look at the garden of Eden. What he said to Eve was not entirely untrue. Her eyes would be opened and she would know good and evil. He told her just enough truth that she did not notice the direct lie, that she would not die. And she fell for it.

The same tactic is used today. He will take something true and embed a lie within it. And we receive so much truth that we do not notice the lie. And slowly, without realising it, we drift from God's Word and begin living in alignment with the enemy's narrative instead.

2) He is a prowling lion

1 Peter 5:8 says the enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. The key word here is prowls. A lion prowling is not a lion attacking. It is a lion studying, waiting, and positioning. Lions are not the fastest animals, but they are the most dangerous. They are patient, strategic hunters who win through timing and positioning. And they always target the vulnerable, the weak, the one that has wandered too far from protection.

This is exactly how the enemy operates. He waits for our spirit's to become weak. When the Word becomes infrequent and when prayer becomes occasional. He goes after the new converts and the inexperienced. He waits for us to separate ourselves from community, and then he attacks. 

Ephesians 6:11 tells us to put on the full armour of God so that we can stand against the devil's schemes. The word schemes is the Greek word methodeia, where we get the word methodology. This highlights that the enemy's attacks are not random or impulsive. They are structured, strategic, and calculated. He knows our vulnerabilities, our wounds, our insecurities. He knows which lies we are most likely to believe and which doors are most likely to open, and then he attacks. And even if his first strategy does not work, he will come back with another, knocking persistently, hoping that eventually we will open the door.

The mind is the central control centre of our lives. Proverbs 23:7 tells us that as a man thinks, so he is. What we think shapes what we believe. What we believe shapes how we feel. And how we feel shapes how we live. If the enemy can seize our minds, he does not need to do anything else because we will defeat ourselves.

So how do we protect it?

Firstly, in order to discern the lies of the enemy, we must first know the truth. We will never recognise the 1% lie if our minds are not saturated in God's Word. Psalm 119:11 says: "I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You."

The word hidden means it is not left on the shelf and picked up occasionally. It is deliberately stored and intentionally kept in a sacred place, where it becomes the measuring stick against which every thought is tested.

So ask yourself honestly: is God's Word hidden in your heart? Is it your daily bread or simply your Sunday dinner? Because if we do not fill our minds with God's truth, the enemy will simply convince us to fill it with his lies.

Secondly, we must take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

The enemy's tactic is not just to get us to believe one lie. It is to create a stronghold. The word stronghold can be translated as a castle or fortress. He wants to build a complete fortress of lies, a system of thinking constructed from deception that governs our daily lives and conduct. One lie believed becomes the foundation for another, and before we know it we are living inside a structure built entirely by the enemy.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 tells us that the only way to demolish these strongholds is to take every thought captive. This means you do not let a thought pass through your mind unchallenged. You recognise it and you arrest it. You reject what does not align with God's Word. And you replace it with truth.

Colossians 2:15 tells us that at the cross, Jesus disarmed the powers and authorities and made a public spectacle of them. The enemy was not yet be destroyed, but he has already been defeated. So, he is not coming for us from a position of power. He is coming from a position of desperation. 

Sister in Christ, you are not fighting for victory - you are fighting from it. You are more than a conqueror. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. So know your authority. Guard your mind. And walk in the victory that Christ has already secured for you.