He Has Overcome

By:  Donna Martin

The voices of the choir filled the church,

“Every high thing must come down,
Every stronghold shall be broken,
You wear the victor’s crown,
You overcome, you overcome.
Halleluiah, Jesus, you have overcome the world.”

The words of the song are inspired by 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh:  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) casting down arguments, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

Strongholds in this verse refer to thoughts that we have programmed into our mind that are contrary to the truth.  Satan wants us to get us off track in our thinking.  He wants to deceive us and keep us from knowing and understanding God’s truths.

Even in our marriage we may come up against strongholds.  Satan whispers that we don’t need to go to church all the time, we don’t need to give our tithe, we don’t have time to read the Bible and spend time alone with God.  We’re too busy for all of that, he tells us.  He causes us to notice all of the irritating things that our spouse does and he tries to lure us to compare our spouse to others.  He may even suggest to us that we deserve better.  He whispers that we need to take care of our own needs.  Why should we always have to take care of everyone else?  Satan fills us with discontent and convinces us that we are not good enough to do what God wants us to do.

When we fall into this trap and our mind is filled with false self talk then we need to “take those thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ.”  How do we do this?  One way is by filling our mind with God’s Word.  Even as I have struggled with writing, I looked up and on my desk was a Bible verse that I had written and taped there.  It gave me the encouragement that I needed to finish my task.

Listening to Christian music also helps you to take your thoughts captive and keep your mind on Christ.  The powerful song of the choir on Sunday reminded me that Jesus has overcome all of my strongholds.  All the things that worry me, make me sad, or keep me from being the person Jesus wants me to be can be overcome with the power of Christ.

“Halleluiah, Jesus, you have overcome the world.”

The Martins currently present “Happy Together” Marriage Enrichment Events for churches and organizations.  To schedule an event call Michael at 940-735-1515. They are certified “Prepare/Enrich” Facilitators and are available to work with couples on an individual basis using the “Prepare/Enrich Assessment.”  They publish a weekly “Happy Together” Blog about family and marriage issues.  You can order copies of their new books Dancing With Death and 366 Tidbits We Have Learned in 14,610 Days of Marriage, read, and subscribe to their “Happy Together” Blog by logging onto the Martin’s website at www.happytogethermarriages.com.