Tag Archive | fiery dart thinking

Then and Now!

Jun18

THEN

As I gaze in thought upon my life prior to my lessons concerning fiery darts, I stand amazed at God’s guidance since those pivotal days.  Often, I find myself comparing the life I lived then with the life I live now.

During those ‘prior’ days, on various occasions depression would reach out and grab me, almost pulling me under.  Negative thinking, which I now recognize as fiery darts, dictated my attitudes,emotions, and actions.  I was a people pleaser and my bent toward negative thinking convinced me that not too many people in my life were very pleased with me.  Unfortunately, it seemed to me that there was abundance of evidence which confirmed my suspicions.  Thus, I spiraled downwards too many times.

Yet, during those days there were two constants in my life that prevented me from hitting bottom–my young children and my faith in God.  My children were small and I never doubted that I pleased them.  They were my constant reassurance that I was needed and loved.  And, although I did not seek out God’s truths of scriptures as I should have, God was constantly sending me messages which reminded me that He loved and accepted me.

It seemed that just when I needed His assurance the most, He would send me a lifeline (and often it was via my children or through a special word from God).  Often, all I could do was to cry out to God for His help and plead with Him not to forsake me (you see fiery darts had planted a serious seed of doubt in that regard). My strength was so deficient.   But because God was faithful to His child, I endured and the day finally came when my instruction on fiery darts began and slowly but surely so did my healing.

AND NOW?

You might think that the problems I endured prior to my fiery dart training no longer trouble my life.  If you thought that you’d be mistaken.  For I am still troubled by fiery dart thinking and some of those same troubles back then, still exist.  Yet, I can claim that though those problems still linger, these are blessed days for me.

How is that possible?

My fiery dart training has taught and continues to secure my freedom.  Learning to recognize a negative thought as a fiery dart and how NOT to permit it to rule my thoughts, attitudes, and actions is probably the greatest source of my victory.  Oh, I still have mighty struggles with fiery darts but they don’t have the power to rule me as they did before.  And that’s the clincher!

Fiery Darts do not rule me now:

And therefore, manipulate me to act and think in ways that would undermine my faith and attempt to pull me back into bondage.

Here are a few verses from The Bible that are powerful in depleting the power of fiery dart thinking:

James 4:7, “Therefore submit to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper;”

Philippines 4:8, “Finally, brothers and sisters whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”

That last verse I have recently discovered is super damaging to fiery dart thinking.  Fill you head with thoughts that are of the nature described in this verse and there just won’t be room for fiery darts to hang around.

So your next step?

Get your hands on my book:  Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice.  I have copies I can sell you (if you want me to mail you one) and it’s available online (try amazon.com and you can get it on Kindle too!)

Do my problems define who I am?

May28

Do we want to be defined by our problems?  

Do we want our problems to define us?  Do we want to be known as someone who has suffered defeat b/c of an avalanche of problems?  As someone who is always under their problems?  As someone who just moves from one set of problems to another?  As someone who just can’t seem to get a grip!

OF COURSE NOT! ! ! ! ! 

All right, I believe you.  But I have to ask.  If we don’t want our problems to define us, then why are we so consistent at turning our focus  towards our problems?  Why is it we allow fiery dart thinking as it relates to our problems, rule our attitudes and actions? (you know what happened to Peter when he went to focusing on the waves instead of Jesus – Matthew 14:25-31, read it if you’re curious)

Know what, I really don’t understand that myself.  Unless, of course, we can attribute negative thinking to that ole’ sin nature.  Our Bible heroes struggled with this also, I think.

 For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Romans 7:18-19

21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?   Roman 7:18-24

We NEED to be rescued from ourselves!

Yes we do!  We need a power that will help us turn from focusing on the negative (you know, that menacing fiery dart thinking that plagues us all)!  Well, guess what?  There is such a power!  Read on:

“Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.”  Roman 7:25

Here’s the deal!  Jesus’s death on the cross delivers us (that’s anyone who takes Jesus’s death personally).  Now we are in a position of power!  Now we have a choice!  God’s law (which is grace) can rule our thinking and define us, OR the law of sin can rule our thinking and define us.

So, when we are being pulled under for the 3rd time with fiery dart thinking, we can grab hold of the rescue line Jesus throws us.  It’s called ‘grace’.

And the grace of it is that we don’t have to keep thinking those negative thoughts.  That fiery dart thinking does not have to rule our thinking.  Because of God’s grace we have the Bible.  Because of the Bible we have the source to call upon that’s going to rescue us.  Philippines 4:8, points us to the secret of victory over fiery dart thinking (the kind of victory that keeps us from sinking).

 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

It’s quite simple actually.  The more noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy thoughts we think, the less room there is for fiery dart thinking.

A WORD OF CAUTION!

Often, without realizing it, we cooperate more with Satan’s fiery darts than we do with the wisdom of The Word.  This happens when we fail to educate ourselves about fiery darts.(That’s why I hope you will read my book – so you can be educated about all of this!)  If we don’t recognize the negative thinking as a fiery dart then we will succumb to it’s manipulation.  This excerpt from my book, Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice, p. 79, makes my point.

 3. Acknowledge it (the negative thought) as a fiery dart, if the purpose is to pull you down in any way.  Then, personalize this prayer based on Isaiah 54:17, “May this weapon formed against me not prevail.” (Keep in mind that conviction brings restoration, a fiery dart brings condemnation.)

What I am saying is that if we don’t acknowledge the negative thinking as a fiery dart then we won’t resist it as we should.  Thus we will be allowing ourselves to be manipulated by such thoughts and it will be that fiery dart thinking that will define us (if we aren’t careful)!