Emotion. This is my weapon of warfare as a teacher. Kids aren’t interested in facts and procedures. I connect it to something they feel strongly about, and they will talk about it until school is over. They will remember it the next year when it comes up because the emotion will activate their brains to formulate the memory.

Notice how I said kids.

The enemy uses this same tactic against you when you don’t grow up in grace. He uses your emotions to pile bad beliefs into your mind that perpetuate a life that is the opposite of what Christ came to give you—one of abundance. If the devil can strategically fill your mind and heart with emotionally charged garbage, every time you run into a tough situation, your mind “affirms” the false beliefs that have been implanted. And you live in doubt, delaying the victory already won for you by Christ. You become a self-fulfilling prophesy of failure because you’ve become rooted and grounded in the wrong word.

That’s why you have to build your faith in God by hearing the word of God then doing the word of God: So that you can stand on the word when the enemy comes with the falsehoods. Because in times of trouble? You stand on what you believe.