DIY for Believers

With the right mental attitude, it doesn’t matter what you may be going through, or how difficult it may seem, you can come through it. But you must stand, and remain standing. Ephesians 6:13 says, “…Having done all, to stand.” I believe it’s more important to stay standing up on the inside. It may take courage and determination; however, you can do it if you decide to do so. Yes, you can develop a victor’s mentality, and apply it in every situation. And God will do the rest.

So many of you have a defeatist attitude and you wave the white flag of surrender every time you encounter any opposition. This is not acting as if “God is for you.” Is it? If God is for you, who (yes, who) can be against you? Armed with this truth you can show the enemy that you’re far more determined than he is and that you are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus.

God want’s you to be a winner, not a whiner. Winners are always UP on the inside. They see every negative situation as being subject to change (for the better). They see God as working all things together for their good (but to His glory). They know that nothing can separate them from the love of God. They are content.

Some of you may be going through a dark time in life. Perhaps someone has let you down badly, or taken advantage of you, or even mistreated you, and you’re tempted to sit around and have a pity party. Well, get up on the inside. Change your mental stand.

So many Christians sit around all day waiting for God to change their circumstances. They’ve made up their minds to be happy, but only after their prayers have been answered. Only then will they have a good attitude, only then will they give God the praise. But God moves when you move – when you do your part. And right now, He’s probably waiting for you to get up on the inside.

In 1 Samuel 30, before David became king of Israel, he and his men were out on patrol, while they were away bandits attacked their city and burned down their homes, stole their valuables, kidnapped their woman and children (including David’s two wives). When David and his men returned they were deeply distressed. They wept until they could weep no more (verse 4). However, as David sat out there among the ruins, watching the devastation that was caused by his enemies, he made a quality decision that would affect his destiny. He made up his mind not to stay down and give in to the circumstances. He decided to get up – on the inside and on the outside.

The first thing he did was to stir himself up, and immediately the victor’s spirit began to rise within him. Notice, verse 6, instead of sitting around moping, David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. The Hebrew word for “strengthened” also means “to encourage” – literally “to make yourself strong.” David made himself strong, no one did this for him! There will be times when you need to get up on the inside and make yourself strong; times when you will need to encourage and strengthen yourself.

David and his men got up, put their armour back on, and then went and attacked the enemy with all their might. The Bible tell us that as David and his men persevered, God supernaturally helped them to recover everything that had been taken from them. Yet, none of this would have happened unless David had first encouraged and strengthened himself. Unless he had decided first to get up on the inside, there would have been no victory, and no testimony.

Getting up on the inside is part of the process of making yourself strong. Paul and Silas did this in the prison (Acts 16:25). After they had been severely beaten and put in chains, they decided to get up on the inside. So they started to sing out loud. And as a result of this, their circumstances changed suddenly and dramatically. There was a great earthquake, and the prison doors flew open and their chains fell off. Maybe some of you are in need of such an awesome experience too!

Getting up and doing something to encourage yourself may be the very thing that secures your breakthrough. However there are times when you need to be proactive – to guard yourself (exercising self-defence). 1 John 5 :18 tells us, ".... He who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does nor touch him."

The Greek word translated "keep" actually means "to watch over, preserve or defend." Accordingly, the scripture may read, "He who is born of God (that's you and me) defends himself, so the devil is unable to touch him." So, with a little self-defence the enemy cannot take advantage of you (or your vulnerabilities). But notice, this is your responsibility – no one is going to do it for you! The devil is constantly seeking to influence and gain entrance into your life, and unless you make a concerted effort to watch over yourself, you will become a pin cushion for his fiery darts.

Here are six things you can do to yourself:

[1] Rebuke yourself and don't tolerate sin in your life. Many of you adopt the attitude that sin is a mere problem. But stop calling it a problem and start calling it what it is – sin! What's more, stop calling the devil a problem and call him what he actually is – your enemy! Take the Word of God and deal strongly and quickly with sin in your life. And, don't passively wait until tomorrow or next week. Do it right now!

[2] Watch out for yourself (in your weakness). The devil will attempt to undermine your strengths, but he is unlikely to directly attack them. He will always wage his serious attacks against your areas of weakness. Therefore, you must learn to boldly enforce the truth of what Jesus has accomplished for you on the Cross by constantly demonstrating the power and authority you have in Him.

[3] Discipline yourself and bring your mind into captivity. The mind is the seat of the will. We don't make decisions with our spirits. If we did make decisions with our spirits, we would never sin.

Unfortunately, we all have to make decisions with our minds. Therefore, you must get your mind to agree with your spirit, and only then, will you have the ability to control the flesh and live a righteous life.

The mind is the seat of the will; it’s where every decision is made, so your mind becomes the devil's primary target. The real battle is for the mind. A word of caution, if you don't bring your thoughts into captivity, your thoughts will bring you into captivity!

[4] Examine yourself (and be quick to settle any problem). Many times we view negative circumstances in our lives as being the result of an external intrusion. We start speaking to the problems 'out there', not realising that the problem may be in us. If you are constantly speaking to the mountain to be cast into the sea (according to Mark 11:23), you’d better watch out! You (yourself) may get picked up and thrown into the sea. Self examination is the process by which you weed out all that’s choking your destiny in God.

[5] Test yourself walk in the word you've personally tested. It isn't the Word we've heard that protects us, it is the Word we've received and are walking in. You cannot walk in someone else's revelation concerning the Word of God. Your assurance and protection is from the Word that you have personally tested and found to be true. Too many of you are trying to fight with someone else's armour. Remember, the story of David? He refused to put on Saul’s armour. He fought Goliath with what he had tried and tested - his sling.

[6] Humble yourself pride leads to deception and deception will cause you to destroy yourself. It is the devil's way of using your own power against you, and it's his most devastating weapon. Proverbs 16:18 tells us, "Pride goes before destruction." James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." Then in verse 10 it says, "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."

More believers have fallen because of pride than any other sin. So learn to protect yourself by humbling yourself daily. Don’t wait for someone else (or events) to humble you.

Today, we have found two main areas that we need to focus on and learn to do for ourselves.

(a) We must strengthen ourselves.

(b) We must defend ourselves.

Practice this form of DIY and you will live a victorious life. And remember, when you get up and decide to do what you can, God promises to do exceeding, up and above what you are doing. His blessings overtake you!

Chris Demetriou, 15/07/2007