Don't Receive It; Fight It

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 (KJV)

A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. Proverbs 18:20-21 (KJV)

Our words are powerful things. They are like containers. We choose what they will carry for us. They can be full of life or death; good things or bad things. The choice is ours, and we must live with what we speak into our lives. When our words agree with the Word of God, our lives are blessed with good things. However, when our words agree with the words that come from the devil, things don’t turn out so well.

One area of our lives where this is very important is in the area of health. I have heard so many believers condemn themselves to health problems by the words they speak. As a matter of fact, many Christians claim ailments, diseases, and disabilities as their very own. For example, most of those diagnosed with a health issue often refer to the ailment as theirs. They say things like, “I can’t do that because of MY arthritis.” Or they may say, “MY bad back is really acting up today.” We might hear people say, ”MY migraines have been worse lately.” Do you notice the use of the word MY? These statements show people taking ownership of the health problem as if it is theirs. They have received the attack of the enemy instead of resisting him. And also, people may say that they HAVE a certain sickness. This is also a statement of ownership and it is agreeing with the devil instead of agreeing with God.

Many of us also do this when speaking of the problems of others. For example, we shouldn’t call a cancer diagnosis “his cancer” or “her cancer.” In doing this, we are reinforcing the cancer and saying that cancer belongs to them. And we don’t want to say that they HAVE it, such as “He HAS cancer.”

So, what should we say? I heard healing evangelist Billy Burke say that we can explain such challenges by saying we are FIGHTING them, rather than claiming them as our own. So, instead of saying, “I have diabetes, you say, “I am FIGHTING diabetes.” Instead of saying, “He has Parkinsons,” we say “He’s FIGHTING Parkinsons.” This shows a resistance to the attack of the enemy. It does not deny the natural facts, but it shows that we don’t receive it as our own.

This also works with any attack, not just health problems. We can turn any statement around to resist the enemy. “I am broke” is replaced with “I’m FIGHTING financial setbacks.” See how it works? Don’t receive and agree with the lies of the enemy. When we agree with him, our words add power to his lies and gives more strength to the thing that is coming against us. Resist the devil, and fight against him in every way and with every word you speak. Our words put us over or under, so choose to overcome satan with your words.