Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Isaiah 7:6 lets us overhear the adversaries conversation. It says, “Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them…”

A gap starts out with a little hole in the protective hedge around a vineyard. Song of Solomon 2:15 says, “Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes.”

How did the foxes get in? One critter made the first hole. Another critter a little bigger squeezed through. What is the first ‘critter’ in our heart that makes a gap? Unforgiveness. Then as we secretly dialogue against the one who hurt us, the gap gets bigger.

Yet, God has His way. The moment we are hurt, offended, slighted, or rejected, if we turn to Him the gap will be closed.

Psalm 71:13 is another prayer we need in our arsenal. It says, “Let them be confounded and consumed who are adversaries of my life.” Who is our adversary? 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.”

How does our adversary devour us? He attacks our faith through accusations. Revelation 12:10. The devil uses people, fiery darts, or he uses the lies he planted ~ the inner strongholds that he seeded through stealth.

2 Corinthians 2:11 says, “Lest satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.” Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Wiles are wicked schemes that are formed specifically to defeat. They get into the chinks of our armor when we harbor any resentment, bitterness, offense, or unforgiveness. 

I’m memorizing Psalm 71. Such a delightful psalm. It is full of little prayer vignettes that I can incorporate into my own prayer life. Verse 3 is one of them. It says, “Be my strong refuge to which I may resort  continually…” The literal meaning for ‘strong refuge’ is rock of refuge, or rock of habitation.

Do you shelter in our Rock when you are feeling overwhelmed? Years ago I bought an old mobile in a park with many old mobiles. One night I was woken up with a red strobing light on my ceiling. Instant fear hit me. 

I laid there saying, “Jesus, You are my Rock. I hide in You and I will not be shaken.” When my heart rate went back to normal I got up. I could hear voices, and loud engine noises. When I peered out my front window, the water heater exploded in a huge ball of fire on the side of my neighbor’s mobile kitty corner from me.

Revelation 20:12 says, “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.”

In Daniel 7:9-10, the Ancient of Days was seated…The court was seated, and the books were opened.”

God recorded the names of those who would believe and be saved. We used to sing the hymn, “Is Your Name Written There?” Revelation 21:27 says that by no means will anyone enter the New Jerusalem, “…but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”

The Lord knows all things. He knows our thoughts before we think them. He knows the words on our tongue before we speak them. He listens to the conversations of those who fear Him. His books are only evidence for man of what He always knew.

I like to think about this book. It is amazing. God listens and records our conversations when we are talking together about Him.

Malachi 3:16 says, “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name.”

Did you ever think about His book that records our tears? Psalm 56:8 says, “You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?”

Revelations 17:8 says, “…And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”

Revelation 13:8 says, “…whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

Knowledge of God is not head knowledge. Many know about Him, but they have no intimate communion. John 17:3 says, “And this is life eternal, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

Ephesians 3:19 in the Amplified explains intimate communion really well. It says, “(That you may really come) to know (practically, through experience for yourselves) the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge (without experience); that you may be filled (through all your being) unto all the fullness of God (may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself)!”

2 Peter 1:4 says that we enter into His very nature in our communion. Read this carefully. “By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature…”

James 4:1 says, “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?” Our greatest fleshly reaction is to fight for the desire for our own way. That brings clashes.

When we were made in God’s image, let me remind you of the unity of the Godhead. Genesis 1:26 says, “And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness….”

Matthew 12:25 says, “…Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation…” Verse 30 says, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.”

2 Peter 1:3 says, “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.” Verses 5-7 is a list of what we are to diligently add to our faith. One of them is knowledge.

Proverbs 9:10 says that the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Any negative thought against ourselves, others, or our circumstances is a high thing that needs to be cast down. There is nothing negative about God.

We cast negative thoughts down by rerouting them the second they come into our mind. In other words we don’t give them another thought. Remember that not every thought we have is of our own origin.

That is where fiery darts come in. They are strategically designed against God. They war against what we know about Him from His word. The devil hates God and those who are made in His image ~ us. If we can remember that, we will not take up offenses, hold bitterness in our hearts, or dialogue with any negative thoughts. Beware. The enemy of our soul seeks to divide so he can conquer.

It was the middle of the night when the Holy Spirit gave me the subject for this devotional. I wrote this in my notebook ~ Negative dialogue ‘high thing’ 2 Corinthians 10:5 says to cast down every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. 

What are some of those ‘high things’ in our lives?  A negative dialogue is futile. Rolling something over and over in our mind gets us nowhere. Rehearsing things from the past changes nothing. Things that we have no control over don’t get figured out, no matter how much time we spend trying. 

Who needs the fruit of emotional fatigue? We are created to glorify the Lord. Our minds are a marvelous gift. God’s creation of our brain is brilliant. Why would we want to waste the resources He has given us? 

The next time you start to go into mental gymnastics ~ stop! Make your next thought one of gratitude according to the knowledge of God.