Defeat mentality

The defeat mentality is one of the main tricks of the devil in this time of the end to rob Christians of the blessings and heavenly promises of their God. The greatest form of defeat is to defeat yourself (following one’s inclination or thinking through human calculations) even before the situation or the enemy defeats you. Therefore, a Christian who is ready to get the best of God must learn how to overcome the mentality of defeat using his faith.

The first step in overcoming that mindset is to avoid asking God how He wants to do what He promises to do. WHY? Because, even if He tells us how, we always tend to question Him more because as to the reasonableness of what He has said; thus weakening our ability to believe and trust His words. However, the one who overcomes the defeat mentality does not consider the reasonableness of what God is saying, but simply believe by faith (that is, THUS SAITH THE LORD), and never doubt God.

So what is mindset?

(1) A fixed attitude or mental disposition that predetermines a person’s responses and interpretations of situations.

(2) A generally long-formed inclination or habit that governs how we reason or judge the situations or words of others.

What is defeat?

(1) To prevent the success of;

(2) not win

(3) A ruin; frustration: the defeat of a lifelong dream.

Therefore, a man / woman with the mentality of defeat is a person who always discovers nothing but failure in all circumstances or situations in life. It is a mind that is full of traditions and human calculations for all situations to dispute what God has said about him or the situation he is facing. He / she is always weighing what God has said and the reasonableness of what he has said.

THE PEOPLE WITH THE MIND OF DEFEAT

The following is obvious in the lifestyle of those who have the defeat mentality and honestly they hardly get the best of God and most of the time it takes them 40 years to get what they should get in 40 days. Most of your heavenly gifts and blessings have been in God’s storehouse for many years, there unclaimed. So what about them? – Deuteronomy 1: 19-42; Numbers 13: 26-33

Defeat Mentality People:

1. Do not take God’s command seriously (Deut 1: 19-21a)

2. They are often fearful and discouraged (v 21b).

3. They always believe in their experience and trust their traditional ways of doing things, even at the expense of God’s “forward” (v. 22).

4. They easily forget the good side of a situation and stand out on the negative side (v. 25).

5. They have a reluctant heart and usually rebel against the words or commandments of God (v 26).

6. They love to murmur rather than make their state of mind known to God and rather see God as too harsh, ridiculous and evil (v 27).

7. They are bearers of evil reports and make other people discouraged in challenging situations (v 28a)

8. Most of the time they consider the physical aspect of a situation rather than the spiritual aspect (v 28b).

9. They are terrified by every little challenge today and easily forget yesterday’s miracles and testimonies (v 29-46).

Numbers 13: 26-33 highlighted other characteristics of the defeat mentality

1. They usually carry the spirit of I CAN’T DO IT (v 31)

2. They like physical comparison in terms of finances, strength, power, wealth, etc. (v32-33)

Note: Spies reported that they look like grasshoppers and that they are. How can the very image of God that it bears become so contaminated? In the same way that many of us today call ourselves one thing or another when challenges arise. May I be away from you!

HOW TO OVERCOME THIS MENTALITY

Considering Joshua and Caleb in our passages:

1. Enriching our lives with the word of God and understanding its application at all times (Num 13:30)

2. Avoid all actions that may affect our faith in God and trust his words (eg, Let’s spy) – Deut 1:22

3. Learn to trust God in all situations, do not be afraid and be courageous (Deut 1: 21b; Pro 3: 5 and 6)

4. Building strength to meet current challenges by stepping on yesterday’s testimonies of God in your life, that if He has done that, He can do this (Deut 1: 29ff).

In conclusion, overcoming the mentality of defeat is very important for every Christian who wants to stay with God and get the best of Him.