In the series the Hunger Games: Mockingjay one of the main characters Peeta Mellark is captured by the Capitol and is subjected to many torturous things. The worst is what the book refers to as highjacking. In the Hunger Games universe, there are creatures that were created in the labs at the Capitol to use in the games and to keep the districts under control. These creatures are called Mutts or Muttations because they were usually mixtures of various animals. One of the worst are called Tracker Jackers.
This reminds me of what Satan does to us. Just like the Capitol altered real memories and fabricated false ones and put them in Peeta's mind, Satan can warp truth and weave lies until we can't discern between the two. The lies look just enough like the truth that we accept them as our own thoughts and find ourselves believing them. He can also take something that was good and cast the shadows of fear, doubt, shame, anxiety, or pride on it and eventually our memory of an event is permanently altered. We begin to question things that don't need to be questioned. Thrown into unnecessary panics because of things we thought we remembered. This is one of his biggest tools that he has to disable us.
When we allow Satan to lie to us to "hi-jack" our memories and make us question things that don't need to be questioned, we get bogged down and unable to carry out our Christ given missions. Also, we begin to change, relationships are broken unnecessarily, life-long friendships are thrown away, families are separated, children run away from all they've been taught, because of a fabric of lies that taints the good and makes the bad look so much better.
One of my biggest problem areas is I like to dwell on stuff. Which in some cases that's not bad because I can work out a solution to a problem or come up with a plan of action for something. However, it does become a problem when I sit there and analyze everything someone has said, how they said it, why, when, where, what context they said it in. I'll compare and contrast everything in a certain scenario and go round and round again in my head until I'm all worked up in tangled knots! It can be awfully exhausting...In those situations, I have to catch myself and say "No. I'm not going to dwell on this...This is not worth my dwelling powers. Jesus is taking care of me, as long as I listen to Him, I will be okay."
The more we're in the Word and the closer we get to Jesus, the better we will be able to distinguish the differences between what Jesus has told us is truth and what Satan is trying to pass off as truth. Kind of like with Peeta, as the book progressed he began to realize the Hijacked memories had a shiny quality to them, they began to look fake in his mind. When we've made Jesus our priority we will be able to spot the fakes and listen to the truth.
Final thoughts: I know from experience its much easier said than done in cases like this. When Satan is assailing me with anxious thoughts, I often get wrapped up before I realize what's going on. But here's something I encourage you (and me) to do. When you feel anxious, fearful, doubts start going through your mind, feelings that you know aren't from Jesus, stop and pray. Ask Jesus for strength and courage. Ask Him for the peace only He can give. Then as the Bible says, yell a loud NO! At the devil and command him in Jesus' powerful name to leave you alone and he will have no choice but to flee. Darkness cannot stay where there is light, and Jesus is the ultimate light.
Also, remember that as children of God, we have been given the power to take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ.
"Tracker jackers are genetically engineered wasps, conceived and created in the Capitol. They are genetically coded to attack anyone or anything that disturbs their nest. Once they make a person their target, they will follow him or her far away from their nest.
-The Hunger Games WikiThe Tracker Jackers' venom was lethal and in the event that their victims survived the attack, they would experience vivid hallucinations and sometimes be driven to madness. When the Capitol captured Peeta after the events in the second book Catching Fire they took his good memories of the main character Katniss and tainted them with just enough Tracker Jacker venom to alter them, morph them into nightmarish memories. They introduced fear and some false memories with the venom and by the time they were done with him, Peeta went from loving and adoring Katniss with every fiber of his being, to hating and abhorring her. He wanted nothing more than to kill her because he was convinced that she was responsible for everything bad that had happened to him. Later on, in the book Mockingjay, the venom begins to work its way out of Peeta's system. Also, his friends developed a way to further help him to regain his true memories.
This reminds me of what Satan does to us. Just like the Capitol altered real memories and fabricated false ones and put them in Peeta's mind, Satan can warp truth and weave lies until we can't discern between the two. The lies look just enough like the truth that we accept them as our own thoughts and find ourselves believing them. He can also take something that was good and cast the shadows of fear, doubt, shame, anxiety, or pride on it and eventually our memory of an event is permanently altered. We begin to question things that don't need to be questioned. Thrown into unnecessary panics because of things we thought we remembered. This is one of his biggest tools that he has to disable us.
When we allow Satan to lie to us to "hi-jack" our memories and make us question things that don't need to be questioned, we get bogged down and unable to carry out our Christ given missions. Also, we begin to change, relationships are broken unnecessarily, life-long friendships are thrown away, families are separated, children run away from all they've been taught, because of a fabric of lies that taints the good and makes the bad look so much better.
One of my biggest problem areas is I like to dwell on stuff. Which in some cases that's not bad because I can work out a solution to a problem or come up with a plan of action for something. However, it does become a problem when I sit there and analyze everything someone has said, how they said it, why, when, where, what context they said it in. I'll compare and contrast everything in a certain scenario and go round and round again in my head until I'm all worked up in tangled knots! It can be awfully exhausting...In those situations, I have to catch myself and say "No. I'm not going to dwell on this...This is not worth my dwelling powers. Jesus is taking care of me, as long as I listen to Him, I will be okay."
The more we're in the Word and the closer we get to Jesus, the better we will be able to distinguish the differences between what Jesus has told us is truth and what Satan is trying to pass off as truth. Kind of like with Peeta, as the book progressed he began to realize the Hijacked memories had a shiny quality to them, they began to look fake in his mind. When we've made Jesus our priority we will be able to spot the fakes and listen to the truth.
Final thoughts: I know from experience its much easier said than done in cases like this. When Satan is assailing me with anxious thoughts, I often get wrapped up before I realize what's going on. But here's something I encourage you (and me) to do. When you feel anxious, fearful, doubts start going through your mind, feelings that you know aren't from Jesus, stop and pray. Ask Jesus for strength and courage. Ask Him for the peace only He can give. Then as the Bible says, yell a loud NO! At the devil and command him in Jesus' powerful name to leave you alone and he will have no choice but to flee. Darkness cannot stay where there is light, and Jesus is the ultimate light.
Also, remember that as children of God, we have been given the power to take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ.
And for those who haven't read the Hunger Games, counterfeit money is another way to think about it. Money counterfeiters have lots of tricks they use to pass their fake creations off as real currency. They buy the right paper, make sure the images look the same, even put tiny red and blue dashes on the paper to replicate the fibers that are in real money. To an untrained eye, a good counterfeiter can pass their "money" off as real. However, for those who have been trained to spot it or for those who have experience with counterfeit money, they can recognize a fake easier than others. Satan does that to us, he has lots of tricks he uses to make lies seem like truth and many times we will fall for them. However, when we stay in God's word and listen to Him, we will be able to better spot the fakes.
"So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. 8 Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. 9 Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. 10 Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet."
James 4:7-10 MSG
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NIV
A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.
John 10:10 MSG
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast
1 Peter 5:7-10 NIV
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