Stop Opposing Yourself Now
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Are you tired of feeling defeated in your own mind? You know that feeling—the one where you’re singing praises in the sanctuary on Sunday, but by Monday morning, your thoughts are a chaotic mess of anxiety, old habits, and "stinkin' thinkin'." You want to serve God, you want to be a vessel of honor, but it feels like there is a civil war happening between your ears. You find yourself doing the very things you hate, or worse, thinking the very things you thought you’d left behind at the altar.
The pain of a defeated thought life is real. It’s like digging a pit for yourself and then wondering why you’re stuck in the dark. It’s a state where you are literally opposing yourself. But here is the good news: there is a way out. There is a way to have a thought life that isn't just "surviving," but is truly victorious. It’s not about self-help, and it’s not about Dr. Phil or the latest psychology craze. It’s about a supernatural relationship with the Spirit of Truth that transforms you from the inside out.
In this post, I want to explore how we can purge the negative and become meat for the Master's use. We’re going to talk about the "Rock of Revelation," the difference between the "surface text" and the "anointed spirit," and how you can fortify your mental "fence" so the devil can't find a way in. It’s time to stop being a captive and start being a conqueror.
The Danger of Opposing Yourself
I spend a lot of time pondering 2 Timothy 2. There’s a specific verse there that always hits me right in the gut. It says:
If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. (2 Timothy 2:21 KJV)
The goal of our walk is to be "meet for the Master's use." We want to be tools in God’s hands. But to get there, we have to "purge" ourselves. Now, what are we purging? We’re purging those negative, sinful, and defeated thoughts that keep us from being effective. A few verses later, Paul talks about something even more startling: people who "oppose themselves."
In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will grant them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; (2 Timothy 2:25 KJV)
Think about that for a second. You can be your own greatest enemy. When we entertain thoughts that go against God’s Word, when we dwell on our failures or our lusts, we are shooting ourselves in the foot. We are working in the field for the Lord while simultaneously digging a pit for our own feet to fall into. We oppose ourselves when we give place to the devil in our minds.
The solution Paul gives is "the acknowledging of the truth." In the Greek, the word for "knowing" or "acknowledging" is Ginosko. It’s not just intellectual assent. It’s not just saying, "Yeah, I know John 3:16." It means to become intimately familiar with the truth. It’s the difference between knowing a fact and knowing a person. Jesus said the truth will make you free, but only if you know it in that intimate way.
The Rock of Revelation and Inner Congruence
I often talk about "Conrad Rocks"—the Rocks of Revelation that God drops from His throne. Imagine a rock of truth falling from the heavens. For many people, that rock hits their head, and they get a little bump of knowledge. They can quote the verse. But that’s where it stops. It’s just "surface text."
For a thought life to be victorious, that rock has to go deeper. It needs to drop from the throne, through your spirit, through your soul, through your mind, and down to your heart until it finally reaches your feet. When that happens, you are in total congruence. Your thoughts, your feelings, and your actions are all lined up with the throne of God. That is where victory lives.
If you just have the surface text but you don't "understand" it, you’re in trouble. To "understand" means to "stand under" the weight of conviction. When you are tried in a specific area—maybe it’s anger, maybe it’s a specific addiction—understanding means you are able to hold up under the pressure because the truth has become part of your very bones. You’re not just trying to remember a rule; you are living out a revelation.
The War for the Mind
We have to realize that there is an active war going on. You aren't just having "bad moods"; you are in a spiritual battle.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) (2 Corinthians 10:3-4 KJV)
The devil wants to build strongholds in your imagination. He starts small. Maybe it’s a little peer pressure. You want to look cool to your friends, so you ignore that prompting of the Holy Spirit. You know that "still, small voice" that says, "Don't do it, don't go there." But you do it anyway. Once, twice, three times... and soon, you become callous.
Eventually, if we keep choosing the approval of man over the approval of God, we can find ourselves in a place where God gives us over to a "reprobate mind" in that specific area. This is why you see people who love Jesus—they really do—but they are still "working iniquity." They are doing the "mighty works" like we see in Matthew 7:21-23, but they don't have that intimate Ginosko relationship with Jesus. They are trying to follow the surface text without being led by the Spirit.
I remember a time recently when I was out praying for people. I was having a bit of a "pity party," to be honest. I felt like I was doing more harm than good. I was in my head, listening to the enemy tell me I was failing. I was about to pack it up and leave when suddenly, the Holy Spirit lit up a specific person for me to talk to. It was a "Divine Appointment." In that moment, I had to choose: listen to my defeated thoughts or listen to the Spirit. I chose the Spirit, and it turned into an awesome, supernatural encounter.
There is a huge difference between being obedient to the "surface text" (which says to preach to everyone) and following the specific leading of the Spirit (who might say, "Go to Macedonia" or "Talk to this person now"). Both are correct, but the Spirit-led path is the one that carries the anointing and the victory.
Personal Reflections
I’ve had to learn these lessons the hard way. There have been many times in my life where I was "opposing myself." I’d be trying to move forward in ministry while dragging around a heavy chain of iniquity in my thought life.
I’ve learned that iniquity is an internal thing. Jesus was "bruised for our iniquities." A bruise is on the inside; a stripe (for healing) is on the outside. We develop these internal "bruises" by repeatedly giving in to sin until that sin becomes our "lord." It leads us around by the nose. You might be in church, but your mind is at the bar or thinking about that specific thing you’re struggling with.
The Lord once gave me a dream that changed everything for me. In this dream, I was looking at my house, and I realized I needed a fence. In America, we love our fences. They define our domain. Our domain is a "sub-domain" of the Kingdom of God. Now, in the dream, I saw that if there’s a hole in the fence, the "little dogs" and the thieves can get in.
Then, I remembered the teaching about the "beam" in our eye. Jesus tells us to cast the beam out of our own eye before we help our brother. That beam represents our iniquity. But here was the epiphany: what do you do with the beam once it’s out? In my dream, I took that beam—the very thing that was blinding me—and I used it to fortify my fence. I slapped a piece of Scripture on that beam and nailed it into place.
Every time I overcome a thought or an iniquity, I’m not just "getting rid" of it. I’m using the lesson learned and the Scripture applied to fortify my mind. I am building a "Fort Conrad" where the word of God is literally the structure of my defense.
Biblical References
The Bible is full of "the 4:7s"—verses that teach us how to rule over the enemy. Look at Genesis 4:7, where God is talking to Cain:
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. (Genesis 4:7 KJV)
Sin is "crouching" at the door, just like a roaring lion. Its desire is to devour you, but God’s command is that we must "rule over him." This is a theme that runs from Genesis all the way to the New Testament. Then we have James 4:7:
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7 KJV)
"Submit" means to come "sub" (under) the "mission." When you are under God’s mission, you are under His protection. The devil has to get permission to touch you when you are in the center of God’s will. Think of Job or Peter. The enemy "desired" to sift Peter like wheat, but Jesus had already prayed for him. When you are submitted to the mission, you can resist the devil with the authority of Jesus' name, and he must flee.
We also have to hide the word in our hearts.
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Psalm 119:11 KJV)
And we must meditate on it day and night:
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. (Joshua 1:8 KJV)
Success in the thought life doesn't come from a one-time prayer; it comes from the word of God becoming the very atmosphere you breathe.
Key Takeaways
- Stop Opposing Yourself: Realize that entertaining negative or sinful thoughts is an act of self-sabotage that hinders your walk with God.
- Internalize the Word: Move beyond the "surface text." Let the "Rock of Revelation" drop all the way to your feet so your life is congruent with the Word.
- Ginosko Connection: Seek an intimate, spiritual relationship with Jesus, not just an intellectual understanding of the Bible.
- Fortify Your Fence: Use the "beams" of iniquity you’ve cast out to build a defense. Every time you overcome a temptation with Scripture, you are strengthening your mental barriers.
- Rule Over the Door: Recognize that sin "crouches" at the door of your mind, but through Christ, you have the authority to rule over it and keep the door shut.
Conclusion and Call to Action
Peeps, we don’t have to live in defeat. Whether you are in a "trailer" season of life or a "Hilton" season, your thought life can be a place of victory. It all comes down to what you are hiding in your heart and who you are submitted to. If you are struggling today, I want to encourage you to dig deeper. Don't just read the Bible—eat it! Let it become part of you.
If this message has touched you, please share it with someone who needs a mental breakthrough. We are all in this together, and the world needs to see Christians who are truly "meet for the Master's use."
If you want to go even deeper into understanding the supernatural walk and how to open your spiritual eyes, check out my book OPEN YOUR EYES - My Supernatural Journey. And if you're battling with fear or things that go bump in the night, Overcoming Night Terror has helped many people find peace in their thought lives during the midnight hour. Both are available on my site, ConradRocks.net.
Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and follow me on social media. Let’s keep the conversation going!
Action Items
- Identify the Hole in Your Fence: Spend five minutes in silence today asking the Holy Spirit to show you one area where you are "opposing yourself" or where the "little dogs" of negative thinking are getting in.
- Find Your "Beam" Scripture: Once you identify that area, find one KJV verse that speaks directly to it. For example, if you struggle with anxiety, use 2 Timothy 1:7.
- Nail It to the Post: Memorize that verse. Speak it out loud every time that negative thought tries to enter your mind. Say, "It is written..." just like Jesus did in the wilderness.
- Practice Ginosko: Set aside ten minutes to simply sit in God’s presence. Don't ask for things; just seek to know Him. Ask the Spirit of Truth to guide you into all truth.
- Do the Word: Find one thing the "surface text" tells you to do today (like "encourage one another") and do it specifically as an act of submission to God’s mission.
Until we meet again, dig deeper and go higher! God bless you.
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