Jesus said that He had nothing in Him that belonged to the evil one. That is not true of us who accepted satan’s fiery dart lies. He strategically planted them for his purposes. Though they are buried in our hearts, they still belong to him. The lies will remain until we renounce them and replace them with truth that will keep us free. 

Resentment, bitterness, and harboring offenses also allow satan to set up inner strongholds that he uses against us from the inside. We have Scriptures that help us understand what his tools are. We do well to heed them and put them into practice in our daily walk.

Peter understood what it meant to be sifted by satan. His recorded words are our warning. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

We destroy our emotional triggers first by confessing them as sin. We must acknowledge that we are the ones who buried them. We know from 1 John 1:9 that when we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us, and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness. 

In Jeremiah 1:10 we find instructions of what to do. We are to root out (acknowledge) and to pull down (confess) , to destroy and throw down (renounce and disown). Then we are to build (memorize and implant truth that will set us free) and to plant (speak the words of truth in our heart to remain free).

According to Proverbs 4:23, we are the ones responsible for what is in our heart. It says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” Psalm 119:11 says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”

Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” 

Matthew 18:21-35 is the parable of the unforgiving servant. Though he was forgiven a great debt (like us) he refused to forgive others as he was forgiven. Verse 34 says that he was turned over to the torturers.

Verse 35 applies to us as well. It says, “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” The buried unforgiveness is satan’s domain. It opposes God’s way to forgive AS we have been forgiven.

The truth that we need to acknowledge and live by is this. The one who sinned against us? Jesus bore their sins also. He paid the full penalty for our sins as well as the sins they did against us. We opposed God’s way when we buried unforgiveness in our hearts~leaving emotional hooks.

I was praying for someone this morning when I felt the Holy Spirit’s speak in my heart. “Nothing can trigger an emotional trauma that has been released to Me.” Jesus was talking to His disciples in John 14.

Verse 30 in the Amplified says, “I will not talk with you much more, for the prince (evil genius, ruler of the world is coming. And he has no claim on Me; there is nothing in Me that belongs to him, and he has no power over Me.”

Can you say the same in your life? The enemy has hooks in us when we do not resolve emotional hurts and traumas God’s way. Our fleshly reactions to another’s fleshly behavior is an example of unresolved issues.

I’ve had counselee’s say, “They know how to push my buttons!” My question becomes, “Why are there buttons they can push?” The answer is that there are unresolved issues which spring up unexpectedly. 

Releasing the emotional pains that we have long ago buried is part of our progressive sanctification journey. We do not remember what we buried, because we have effectively disassociated ourselves from them.

The only way to true freedom is to confess that our way opposes God’s way, and embrace His way through forgiveness and release. 2 Corinthians 4:2 says, “But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves in the sight of God.”

Renounce means to disown. While they remain buried we own them. They are the hooks that satan has in us. They are what he uses to disrupt our interpersonal relationships. They are also ways that he still controls us.

In 2 Timothy 2:24-26 Paul was instructing Timothy on how to help those bound in satan’s snare. We must be gentle. Verse 25 says, “In humility correcting those who are in opposition…” Anything we allow to remain buried opposes God’s way. Verse 25 continued into verse 26.

It says, “…if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”

1 Chronicles 28:9 Amplified says, “…For the Lord searches all hearts and minds and understands all the wanderings of the thoughts…” I know this verse well, and often think about it. Yet as I typed this, my mind went back to the definitions from yesterday.

The Holy Spirit made the connection for me of mental dialogue and doubting. Both fit perfectly into David’s words to his son Solomon. How many countless times do we allow our mind to wander through mental dialogues about sometime that has passed? Do we allow our doubts to mindlessly chase endless rabbit trails?

Father, thank You for the gift of Your Holy Spirit. I am so grateful that we have One who dwells within us, to lead us into truth when we step into error.  I ask You to help us discern the spirit behind the matter of our hearts. Are we condemning instead of praying? We will all stand before You to give an account of our idle words birthed through letting our minds wander.

Convict us through the deep inner work of Your Holy Spirit. Reveal the thoughts in our hearts that are contrary to Your truth. Thank You now, because You hear and always answer us according to Your will. 

In Romans 1:21 Paul wrote about those who did not glorify God, nor were thankful. It says, “…but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” The Greek word for futile means useless, fruitless, empty, hollow, unproductive, ineffectual, void of results, and worthless. 

Does that sound like the hamster in his wheel? It goes around and around, but gets nowhere because its actions are futile. So are our thoughts when we continue to mentally dialogue about something that has passed. We enter into sin and waste precious emotional energy.

Simeon said this to Mary in Luke 2:35 about Jesus, “…that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.” The Greek word for thoughts is dialogismos. Does that sound like dialogue? According to Strong’s it means inward reasoning, questioning, consideration, and deliberation; turning thoughts over in  the mind; reckoning by mental questions, opinions, designs, and disputes.

It carries the same thought as what God told Peter in Acts 11:12. He was to doubt nothing. Strong’s definition denotes a conflict with oneself, in the sense of hesitating, having misgivings, doubting, being divided in decision making, or wavering between hope and fear.

These definitions took me to James 1:6. We are to ask for wisdom in faith without doubting. Verse 8 says that one who doubts is double-minded and unstable in all their ways. We need to be resolute in our thoughts in order to be resolute in our words and actions.

Romans 14:1. It says,  “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things.” Verse 4 says, “Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.” 

Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according tot he flesh, but according to the Spirit.” It is too easy to ‘condemn’ another in our thoughts. More on this tomorrow.

My article was in today’s newspaper. It is a combination of several of my recent devotionals.

How does unbelief creep in? I felt this question pop into my mind when I read Matthew 17:20. Jesus was answering His disciples’ question. He said, “…for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

The issue is not the size of our faith. Unbelief creeps in when we allow the devil’s fiery dart-lies to penetrate our mind. It also comes in when we waver in what God’s word instructs us to do.

James 1:8 says that those who waver are double-minded and therefore unstable. Their faith borders are not secured. Faith is a resolute, unshakeable, and steadfastly rooted truth that is hidden in our heart. It is surrounded with thankfulness. 

In Colossians 2:5 Paul commended the church, “…rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.” He went on in verses 6-7 to say, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” 

2 Corinthians 10:5 says to take every thought captive. That does not mean that we take every thought apart to see if it has a lie in it. It means that we hide God’s truth in our heart. It is this inward truth that will rise like a sentinel to thwart any lie from entering in the first place.

Those lies that we dialogue with become part of our own thought processes. They seed into the soil of our hearts unknowingly. That is the stealth activity of our enemy. It is essential to remember that not every thought is of our own origin. As each lie is hidden, it is gathered into a stronghold which wars against us from inside. 

All fiery darts come from the outside. Ephesians 6:16 was written so we could stop them from entering. It says, “Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”

How then does our faith quench fiery darts? Quench means to suppress, thwart, and extinguish. It’s a word that describes how our enemy seeks to destroy our faith. The opposite of suppress is to express. The opposite of thwart is to succeed in victory. The opposite of extinguishing is to ignite.

We are warned in 1 Thessalonians 5:19, “Do not quench the Holy Spirit.” Ephesians 4:30 says to not grieve the Holy Spirit. Verse 31 listed the enemy’s tactics. He works through people that are under his influence through the lies they have believed.

It says, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice.” Verse 32 helps us to come in the opposite spirit. It says, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another; even as God in Christ forgave you.”

Paul’s further instructions are in Colossians 3:12-13. It says, “Therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”

The underpinning of our faith is forgiveness. As we are forgiven, we are to forgive in the same manner. Matthew 18:35 says that unless we forgive from our heart, God the Father will send tormentors. 

Could the Lord be using folks in your life that you are at cross purposes with? What He allows always has His purpose ingrained in the fabric of the trial. It is tightly woven so that nothing can thwart it.

Proverbs 27:17 Amplified says, “Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend (to show rage or worthy purpose).” We are to be iron sharpeners not friction igniters.

Proverbs 15:1-2 says, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.” We are to exemplify the Lord’s character at all times. He uses adversity to reveal the hidden lies that undermine our faith.

Hebrews 11:3 says, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” Couple this with Romans 4:17 says, “…God…calls those things which do not exist as though they did.”

I started reading Hebrews 11 but only got as far as verse 3. I wrote these two questions down in my journal. What do my words frame? What doesn’t exist yet I talk like it is present?

Since resentment starts as a seed, it will fall into the soil of our heart. It will not germinate if we don’t water it with our thoughts. Nurtured negative thoughts become matured spoken negative words. When we continue to resent something that happened (past tense) then we are living in sin.

2 Corinthians 5:17 needs to be indelibly written in our hearts. It is such a familiar verse, that it is easy to miss how essential this truth is. It says, “…old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Our past is passed.

We do not live in the past and the present at the same time. The minute that I typed this line, it has not been relegated to the past. Our flesh perversely hangs onto our past. Our spirit knows the truth. We cannot walk in the Spirit and walk in our flesh at the same time.

Galatians 5:17 says that the Holy Spirit resists our flesh, and our flesh resists the Holy Spirit. Think of two magnets. When turned opposite of each other, there is a magnetic field that forcefully keeps them apart.

What do the words, “I can’t” frame? What do life-giving words frame? They are polar opposite. “I can’t” frames hopelessness and defeat. Life-giving words impart grace. They encourage and strengthen.

Any words spoken from a resentful heart will be caustic, derogatory, and defiling. Matthew 15:15-16 says, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts…”

If we don’t confess our resentment as sin, it will become full blown bitterness. It will defile those around us, as well as cause chemical changes inside our body. We will bear the fruit of disease that will also poison those who eat it.

This morning (last Thursday) I was thinking back about some of my Monday events. When I realized what I was doing, I said: Marilyn, why are you going back to Monday? It is in your past. Right. Why was I rehearsing something that had already taken place? It was over and done. There was no need to bring it back up.

I unconsciously went back in my mind. That is what happens when a seed of resentment is dropped into our hearts. It happened, but we choose to mull it over in our mind until we own it. That seed will then become a root of bitterness if we don’t resolve it.

We have no reason to resent anything. If God allowed it, then His purpose is stamped on it. Resentment is a fleshly indulgence. We have the power within to resist it. The more we walk in the Spirt, the more quickly we will recognize when our hidden flesh rises up.

Self-protection is a lie. We have a Defender, who is the only One who has the ability. David got it right. Psalm 18:1-2 was his declaration. It says, “I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

Obedience leads to increased discernment. We cannot hear His whispered words when we are in sin. As we walk in the Holy Spirit, our flesh is starved and weakened. When we walk in our flesh, our spirit is starved and therefore weakened. Which one are you feeding?

Psalm 81:13, 16 says, “Oh, that My people would listen to Me…He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; and with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.” Our flesh will never be satisfied. 

It is always looking for ways to express itself through taking up offenses, allowing the seed of resentment to flourish into full blown bitterness, and luring us to walk in our own strength. Jeremiah 17:5 says, “…Cursed is the man who trusts in man and  makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord.”

One who dwells securely under the shadow of the Almighty has stepped aside from the temptation to harbor resentment. Psalm 91:2 says, “I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.”

Jeremiah 31:14 says, “I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, and My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.” Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”

Several of the above verses bear out the truth that when we are trusting the Lord and not ourselves, we will not fall prey to satan’s effective weapon called resentment. Remember, it all starts with one thought that we accepted and entertained.

After typing the devotionals about resentment, I spent some time confessing my own. I wrote my words down in my journal as I said them. “Lord I ask You to forgive me for the emotional energy I have spent by grousing about something I have no control over.”

Grousing is not a common word in my vocabulary so it gave me pause. As I thought about the word I looked up the synonyms. Do you ever complain, whine, grumble, murmur, bellyache, object, protest, or gripe?

Numbers 11:1 is a verse that we need to keep in our present thoughts. It says, “Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused…” This verse should stop us in our tracks.

Repurpose means to reorient, or give something a different way of expression. How then do we healthfully use our emotional energy? We need to reclaim it and reroute it to glorify the Lord. All thoughts have an intention behind them.

When we start to complain in our mind, we instead immediately reroute it to praise. “I praise You Lord, that You are in control of this situation. I praise You because You are trustworthy, and I can trust You to work this out for my good.”

Praise lifts our thoughts through truthful affirmation, rather than lowering them through negative defamation. We praise His character, rather than defame someone’s actions that we don’t agree with.

Defaming another, who is made in God’s image, even in our thoughts displeases the Lord. It  is a form of cursing. Guaranteed, if it is in our thoughts it will come out of our mouth unexpectedly. It is spiritual slander.

Complaining is an expression of hidden resentments. There is a lot of emotional energy expended, that not only causes inner defilement, but diverts God’s purpose for our lives. We are created to praise Him.

Complaining is satan’s counterfeit to praise. When we entertain thoughts against anyone, ourselves, or our circumstances, we are playing right into satan’s plan. 2 Timothy 2:26 says, “And that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”

Not! We must fight against this insidious way that we have been caught up in. We do that through renewing our mind with His life-giving truth. When that truth becomes our daily experience, it will influence and empower our thought processes. 

Inner truth will help us repurpose our emotional energy. Think about this. When you worship, where is your focus? When you spend time basking in His Presence, what are your thoughts? Our focus and thoughts are only on the Lord. 

2 Corinthians 3:18 says that when we gaze upon Him, He will take us through inner transformation. The verse says, “…are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Hebrews 11:27 Amplified says about Moses, “…but held staunchly to his purpose and endured steadfastly as one who gazed on Him Who is invisible.” Praise will lift us above the things that we have no control over, to gaze upon the only One who is in control of all things. 

Resentment that turns to bitterness creates chemical change. It is like a spiritual cancer that eats away. It causes a corrosive acid to drip down upon our brain neuro connective pathways, and begins to destroy our health from within.

How many times have you felt fatigued? It could be rooted in emotional turmoil from a negative inner dialogue. The things that are hidden in our heart, constantly seep into our present thought processes.

We are created to glorify Him (Isaiah 43:7) but hidden sin blocks our fellowship with the Lord. It taints our witness so that we do not represent the Lord as He designed us to. Ephesians 4:31 says, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.”

1 Peter 2:1 says, “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking.” Romans 13:12, 14 says, “…Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light…put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh.”

Hidden sin, like buried resentments, makes provision for our flesh. Pride rules our heart so that we do not humbly submit to the authority of God’s word. There is only One Who is to be enthroned in our hearts ~  Jesus as Lord.

The fruit of resentment is a grumbling spirit. The opposite is a heart that is full of praise and thanksgiving. The last verse in Psalm 150 (the last Psalm) is, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord Praise the Lord!

Psalm 146:1-2 says, “Praise the  Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! While I live I will praise the  Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.” There is not one circumstance in our lives that would keep us from praising the Lord, unless it was instant death.

James 1:2 J. B. Philipps says, “When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into our lives, my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends!” All lives are full of trials. We can resent them or embrace them. It is always a choice. 

Praise and thanksgiving will instantly uproot any thought of resentment from being fruitful. Remember what James said about the tongue? James 3:9-10 says, “With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God…My brethren, these things ought not to be so.” Let us cultivate a heart that glorifies Him by confessing our resentments as sin.