The Devil's Playground

The mind is the devil's playground. He swings on the swings of our emotions. He slides us down the slide of depression. He spins the merry-go-round of our thoughts, he unbalances the teeter-totter of our obsessions.

Over thinkers know what it’s like to have their mind played with by their own, obsessive and depressive thoughts brought on by the devil‘s schemes.

It's time to tell the devil to get out of our heads and take a recess from our mind.

To fight these thoughts and to control the devils hold over our minds we need to do a few things according to scripture.

First we need to “resist the devil and he will flee. According James 4:7-8 we do this by drawing near to God. James exhorts, ”Cleanse your hands you sinners, purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

The problem with being double minded is one part of your mind is focused on and loyal to the Lord while the other half is focused on the world. Our loyalty is divided between God and the world. If we resist the devil and flee from him and worldly desires and draw near to God our mind suddenly becomes more clear and focused. The merry-go-round starts to slow down.

Then, for a moment as we sit down in God’s presence, as we draw close to him, our mind sits on the bench by the calm waters of the small pond by the playground. The sun shines down on the cool, peaceful corner of our mind. Secondly, we are told in God’s Word to ”not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans‬ ‭12:2‬ ‭

We cannot conform to the world where the devil controls the playground of our mind, we renew our mind by transforming our thoughts to reflect the will of God. Transforming isn’t just for those robots in disguise. It’s for the mind that is stuck in the devil’s playground.

My thoughts tend to flow this way more often than I would like. Praying the prayer, asking God to transform our thoughts and renew our minds is a powerful one, one that God will not ignore. This transformation, we cannot do alone. We can only do this with the help of the Holy Spirit living inside of us. Our prayers have to take control of those negative thoughts. This does not come easy, it takes time and hardships for the mind to change.

Yet, my thoughts will still tend toward negative emotions. It’s a constant battle of the wits with us and the adversary. He is skilled, he is crafty, and he walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. His schemes are cunning as he plays on the thoughts in our heads. ”I’m not good enough...I‘m really not a good person... I really don’t have everything I deserve...I’ve said too much...I haven’t said enough...How can God really love me?...I‘ve worked so hard and done so many good things in my life only to get nowhere...I messed up today...I’m a bad mom, wife, employee, team player, Christian, fill in the blank.”

The weapons we need to fight against the devil will not be found on the playground. They are not even of this world. “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

Ephesians‬ ‭6:11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Take the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;”

Ephesians‬ ‭6:16-17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

2 Thessalonians 3:3.

The fiery darts of the wicked one are sharp and strong and seem to penetrate through our mind and hearts often.

But God offers the sword of the Spirt, which is His Word, to fight off those darts which can come in the form of wicked thoughts.

The third thing we must do is sharpen our minds with the Word of God which is sharper than any two/edged sword...and it is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Playgrounds are meant to be a place of happiness and peace but quickly turn into a battle ground in our mind. I can’t promise the battle ground will ever go away, because after many years of fighting, the battle still comes and goes in my mind, it is a constant battle, but the peace of God can rule our hearts and minds and take us back to the solitude of a peaceful escape.

“He gives us a place to go to rid ourselves of evil thoughts. A place with peaceful trails and quiet places. Never underestimate the importance of a peacful solitude place for prayer, alone with God.”

“The Bible tells us that Jesus often went up to the mountain to pray– Matthew 14:23, Mark 6:46, Luke 6:12, John 6:15. Mountains were solitary places and Jesus needed a quiet place to pray– to talk to His Father, to commune with Him, to receive strength and guidance from Him.” (WordPress.com)

Go to the mountain top of your mind and use the truth of God's Word to help your thoughts stay focused and established on Christ. Enjoy this peace and solitude with the Savior.

If we continue to pray, if we transform our minds, sharpen our minds through God’s Word, resist the devil and draw near to God and put on His full armor that He offers, the next time the evil one brings the battle to the recess of our minds we will be better equipped and prepared for his schemes, with the help of our Father as he has given us the weapons necessary to fight when the playground becomes a battle ground in our minds.