1 Peter 5:8 – Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (NIV)

I recently embarked on some steps toward a healthier lifestyle, adding walks and watching my dietary intake by recording what I eat daily. The first three weeks went very well. Then today, no sooner had I logged my weight loss than I heard a small voice inside my head attempting a derailment. "That's it? That's all you lost with all your hard work, huh?" My thoughts immediately agreed with this small, tempting voice, and for about 15 minutes, my thoughts wrestled with the small voice. For a good part of that time, the small voice of God's enemy was winning.

You might be asking the outcome of these thoughts. I'm happy to report that the voice that is wrapped in the love of Jesus won. At the time, we had been watching the mini-series, The Chosen. We had heard the character portraying Jesus say, "The time has come", and the phrase popped into my head.

These four words had an impact on me because my walk with Jesus has been a long road with many forks and attempted derailments. In the past few years, I have been on a much better walk as a Christian, and I have been able to stand firm in the Word and His promises for my life. Hearing the phrase, "The time has come", has given me another assurance of who I am in Jesus.

Consequently, I was able to squash the attempted derailment by the enemy. I was able to speak those words out loud — "The time has come" — and I was able to go about my day in Jesus.

This won't be the last time that the enemy attempts to thwart my plans and dreams. The next time, it might be in another area of my life.

What about you? How does the enemy creep into your life? Do you hear, "You're not worthy?" or "Who do you think you are, trying to learn something new?" or even, "Buy that, you deserve it."

The Bible tells us that we need to take these thoughts captive. How do we do that? "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7 NIV)

Prayer: Dear Jesus, we thank You for the grace that You show us when we allow that other small voice into our heads. We praise You that You have given us a relationship with You to combat these thoughts. Help us, hour by hour and day by day, to walk closely with You so that we may overcome the enemy in our lives. Thank You for Who You are in our lives. Amen.

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About the author:

Julie Bowles <julieanni@rogers.com>
Barrie, Ontario, Canada
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