Matthew 12:25-29 – “And knowing their thoughts He said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶ And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹ Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.”

Can We Bind the Strongman in Our Lives?

Each person focuses on something each day.   What we focus on plays a major role in the outcome of that day and the successive days. 

Jesus warned of dividedness and the revelation of how to deal with the problem and attain daily victory. The Pharisees and Scribes accused Jesus of using demonic power to cast out devils. The LORD reminded them that a divided kingdom was doomed to fail. It would be unstable and unsustainable.

He continued with His treatise and revelation on protecting ourselves and our possessions from the devil (strongman) and even how to get back what was stolen.

• First, there was an act of binding the intruder.
• Then, there was the act of taking back what he had taken.

Being single-minded and focused on God, His Word, and His promises empowers us to Bind the Strongman and walk in victory.

A double-minded person is unstable in everything, according to the Bible!  But let us go back to the consideration of a divided kingdom.   Is not the mind a sort of kingdom?  If we are divided in our thoughts, we create an unstable and unsustainable kingdom of the soul and open the door for the enemy to steal, kill, and destroy.

We must bind our double-minded thoughts and bring every thought into captivity to Jesus. Divided hearts destroy faith.  That is visible in Matthew 14. The account of Peter walking on the water makes us say, WOW! But the WOW dissipates when we read the rest of the story. What happened?

Peter became double-minded and lost focus.  A divided heart destroys faith and invites needless struggle.  Focus can cause the heart and mind to become divided.  Peter lost focus! Focus either builds faith or destroys it. Peter Saw… That’s the issue, He Saw!

Peter first focused on Jesus and took authority over the elements. Then, he SAW the winds and waves (problems and difficulties). His focus shifted his consciousness from God’s reality to the natural, and his mind became divided. He saw Jesus, but he also saw the winds and waves. He was focused on two realities, which created a doublemindedness that shipwrecked his confidence and sank.

How do we cultivate a singular heart that is focused on God, His Word, and His Promises?

• We Talk to Ourselves!
• We remind ourselves of What God Has Said.
• We speak to ourselves in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual songs, singing and making melody in our hearts to the LORD.
• We focus on God! We look beyond the natural into the supernatural.
• We look beyond what seems to be to what is.
• We look beyond the problem to the fulfillment and bind the negative and non-productive thoughts and words from our hearts and mouths.
• We Focus on God, and that produces Faith.  If we focus on the problem, it destroys Faith.

Remember, through the Victory of Jesus, the devil is no longer in charge; we are!  In God’s eyes, we are victorious!  We have authority over all the power of the enemy. We are more than conquerors. So, bind those loose and wayward thoughts of wrong focus and walk on the waters of your life. You may have to be rescued a few times, but you will learn to focus and reject doublemindedness. Victory is Yours! Today is your day; seize it!

My prayer for you today: “Lord, I ask that you help each one begin a new way of thinking and begin the process of binding the strongman and embracing the victory and promises of God. Every journey must begin with the first step, so step forward and focus on Jesus!”

May this day be filled with His presence and every strongman bound!