Most of our ideas about the devil and how he works didn’t come from the Bible, they came from folklore and religious mysticism. Likewise, most of what we think is an attack from the devil is simply us living out the beliefs of our heart! By focusing our attention on the devil we never solve the real problem: the beliefs of our heart!
Proverbs tells us that all the boundaries of our life flow out of the heart. The beliefs of the heart are, more than anything else, a reflection of what I believe about God and myself. We all subconsciously create boundaries within which we feel safe, secure and worthy. When any aspect of our life gets greater than our sense-of-self we no longer feel safe, secure or worthy.
The first response to life being better than we believe we deserve is stress. This emerges from a conflict in our conscience. At that point in time we could connect to God and expand our sense-of-self in Christ. If we fail to do this we’ll subconsciously sabotage the improvements in our life in order to bring us back into the boundaries of our beliefs.
The fact that we blame the devil rather than dealing with the beliefs of the heart means we never solve the real problem, never expand our boundaries and repeat the scenario again and again. CLICK HERE to join me this week and begin to expand your boundaries so you can live the life of your dreams.
Boundaries have become a major issue for me. I think because I never understood them. I have heard the word “boundaries” and its importance thousands of times. But I couldn’t grasp the full meaning. I refuse to be a victim because I clearly believe in the finished work of my Saviour. Who, in my pain, showed me over and over and over that He Loves me. I experience the Love ALWAYS . However I still had issues that repeated the cycle of addiction over and over and over. I was always brought back to me and boundaries that I am now learning . I believe that I need boundaries to protect myself from feeling the sense of violation of my values and feeling hurt and If I stay in that place of a victim I am defeated. And I know that from experience. I am thousands of miles from my family and my mother still has a major effect on me. I don’t know if it’s unfortunate because for her it’s normal I guess. But for me it is not. I still feel hurt by her. And it brings me to boundaries that I’m learning to live in peace with.
Sharon, Sadly many of us are raised to have no boundaries. Controlling parents condition us to be vulnerable by the way they treat; it becomes our normal. Dealing with issues that been part of a life long process can be challenging, because we don’t know how to be any other way. Like you said, we can connect to God’s love instantly, and experience momentary peace and healing. But until we renew our mind to see things differently, we will keep making the same mistake, which recreates the pain.
The Bible tells that above all else we must guard our heart. Anything that affects our ability to walk with God, live a peaceful victorious must removed or managed more effectively. Sometimes we have to put a safe distance between us and those who have such a negative effect on us. We can still love people, without giving them control of our life. Remember, when we allow someone to control us, we have allowed them to usurp the lordship of Jesus in our life.
You may know there are hundreds of free videos available here on our website. http://www.impactministries.com I would recommend you watch the series on Dignity and Worth. I would also recommend you read my book Taking control of your Life. It is available at the store here on our website. Between these two resources you will get the tools you need to transform your life. Also, in January I will release my new mentoring program. Be sure to either download my free mobile app or get on my e-mail list so you’ll know when it is launched. It would be an incredible help. Blessings!