“...Casting down arguments and
every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God,
bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ..."
2 Corinthians 9:11
You have an adversary. And that adversary is the devil. There's a good chance that he is responsible for the health challenge you or a loved one are having. Though his only power lies in deception, he is nonetheless quite crafty. He is a defeated foe with no power over believers, unless we fall for his deceptions and agree with his lies. This is precisely why Paul instructs us to take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. When we are faced with a health challenge, it is essential that we refuse to agree with his lies of symptoms, lab results, doctor's reports or what we read on the internet. These may be facts; but they are not the truth.
One of his strategies, with the intent to cause us to doubt and disbelieve God's Word, is to cause our condition to worsen, before it gets better. A master of falsehood and trickery, he endeavors to discourage and defeat us at every turn. We must ever be on our guard to stay in the truth and disregard his attempts to intimidate, bully, or frighten us. There are times, when in the process of recovering our health, that symptoms appear to go from bad to worse. A perfect example of this can be found in Mark 9:14-29. A father brought his demon-afflicted son to Jesus for healing. Upon rebuking the spirit with a firm command to come out of the boy, the spirit cried out and convulsed the boy before leaving his body. Scripture tells us that the boy became as one dead before Jesus lifted him up - completely healed. To the onlookers, the situation looked far worse before it got better.
Another New Testament illustration of this can be found in Mark 5. Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, sought Jesus to come to his house to heal his daughter, who was at the point of death. While in transit to his home, some came and told Jairus that his daughter had died. Jesus immediately responded to Jairus saying, "Fear not, only believe." Despite the apparent worsening of the situation, Jesus proceeded to heal the young girl.
In each of the above examples, God used what Satan had planned for evil for His glory. On your journey to wellness, recognize that when symptoms go from bad to worse - this could possibly be a setup from the enemy coming against you. Don't be fooled by the wiles of the devil; rise up and stand firm against his schemes. Take every thought captive and use the truth of the Word of God as your greatest weapon! He who is in you is greater than any force arrayed against you! You've got this!
DAILY DECLARATION
I refuse to be intimidated by the lies and deception of the devil. I will stand my guard to take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. No matter what I see or feel, the Word of God is true. I declare I have been healed by the stripes of Jesus Christ and His abundant life fills every cell in my body!
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