Reed's Reads of Wisdom Wednesdays™: The Enemy Feeds on Emotion: Why Despair and Despond Target the Mind First

Tyrone Tony Reed Jr.
5 days ago
6 min read

Updated: 4 days ago

💥 The War You Can’t Always See

There are battles you can point to.

You can name the enemy. You can describe the damage. You can show people the smoke.

But then there are wars that don’t show up as bruises.

Wars that start as a whisper. A pull. A wave of heaviness that doesn’t make sense. A thought that isn’t yours—but feels like it is.

And that’s exactly why the enemy loves the mind.

Because if the enemy can win the battle in your head, the rest of your life becomes easier to invade.

In Chapter 12: “Chains of Despair” from Book II of S.O.L.A.D.™: It’s Just the Beginning, we see a spiritual strategy that is both chilling and deeply realistic:

The enemy doesn’t always come first with claws and fire.

Sometimes the enemy comes with sadness. Sometimes it comes with hopelessness. Sometimes it comes with grief. Sometimes it comes with a voice that says:

“You’re done.”

“It’s over.”

“You can’t take another hit.”

“You’re a burden.”

“No one would miss you.”

That’s not “just a bad day.”

That’s warfare.

🧠 Why the Enemy Targets the Mind First

If the enemy can control your thoughts, it can control:

your identity
your decisions
your relationships
your faith
your future

The mind is where you interpret reality.

So if despair can distort your interpretation… then even blessings feel like traps, and even love feels suspicious, even hope feels fake.

That’s why Despair and Despond don’t show up simply as demons in Chapter 12: Chains of Despair of Book I of S.O.L.A.D.™: Soldiers of Light Against Darkness™

They show up like a system.

A strategy.

A coordinated assault meant to override a person’s will and rewire what they believe is true.

And in this chapter, it’s not portrayed as dramatic for drama’s sake.

It’s portrayed as what it really is: spiritual manipulation with psychological consequences.

⛓️ The Symbolism of Chains

Chains are one of the strongest symbols in spiritual storytelling because they do two things at once:

Restrict movement
Control direction

Chains don’t just stop you from running… they guide you where you’re forced to go.

And the terrifying symbolism in Chapter 12 is where the chains go.

Not just the wrists. Not just the ankles. Not just the throat.

The attack goes after mind and spine—the control centers.

The message is clear:

The enemy isn’t just trying to hurt you.

The enemy is trying to pilot you.

To make your thoughts feel like your own while they’re being fed, shaped, and steered.

That’s why the moment the chains connect, the victims aren’t merely scared…

They become overwhelmed with thoughts they didn’t invite.

Not “feelings.

”Not “moods.”

Thoughts.

Dark ones. Urgent ones. Intrusive ones.

The kind of thoughts that don’t ask permission.

🌪️ Suicidal Ideation as Spiritual Oppression

Let’s talk about this with the respect it deserves.

This chapter captures something many people don’t understand until they’ve lived it or walked closely with someone who has:

Suicidal ideation is not always, “I want to die.”

Sometimes it’s:

“I want this pain to stop.”
“I can’t turn my mind off.”
“I don’t feel safe with my own thoughts.”
“I’m exhausted from fighting myself.”

In Chapter 12, the characters describe the mind feeling like a battlefield—like the thoughts are coming fast, loud, and violent.

And here’s the part that matters for readers:

The enemy loves hopelessness because hopelessness makes people stop resisting.

Not because they’re weak. But because they’re tired.

That’s why this attack is so wicked.

It targets the weary. It targets the grieving. It targets the overworked. It targets the guilt-ridden.

Not with a sword.

With a story.

A narrative.

A voice.

🧾 The Enemy’s Favorite Lies

Despair and Despond don’t just attack bodies.

They attack belief.

And the chapter exposes several classic lies the enemy uses:

“Your sorrow proves you’re broken.”
“Your grief proves you’re disqualified.”
“Your anger proves you’re dangerous.”
“Your mistakes prove you’re a failure.”
“Your silence proves you don’t care.”

But the most corrosive lie is this:

“This is who you are now.”

This is how strongholds are built.

Not in one moment. But in repetition.

A lie said enough times becomes a “truth” you start living under.

📖 Scripture: The Bible Knows This War

The Bible never treats the mind as “extra.”

It treats it as central.

Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV)

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”

In Scripture, the “heart” isn’t just emotion. It’s your inner world—thoughts, motives, will, imagination.

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NKJV)

“...bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

Notice the language: captivity. Because thoughts can become captors if you don’t confront them.

Romans 12:2 (NKJV)

“...be transformed by the renewing of your mind...”

Transformation isn’t only about behavior.

It starts with renovation.

Because if the enemy can decorate your mind with darkness, you’ll start living inside it like it’s home.

🛡️ The Hidden Strength in the Chapter

What makes Chapter 12 powerful isn’t just that it depicts the attack.

It depicts the resistance.

Even when someone is overwhelmed…even when their mind is flooded… even when they feel pulled by thoughts they don’t agree with…

There is still a fight happening.

And that matters.

Because a person can be under attack and still be resisting.

Let this be said plainly for your readers:

Having the thought does not mean you agree with the thought. Feeling the pull does not mean you’ve surrendered. Being attacked does not mean you are defeated.

Sometimes survival looks like this:

“Lord, keep me in my right mind.”
“Lord, hold me up when I can’t hold myself.”
“Lord, block what I can’t block.”

And yes—those are prayers.

Real ones.

War prayers.

🔥 What S.O.L.A.D.™ Teaches Here

S.O.L.A.D.™ doesn’t just tell us “be strong.”

It shows the kind of strength that gets ignored in highlight reels:

the strength to endure
the strength to resist
the strength to keep your mind
the strength to not let sorrow become a throne
the strength to not let grief become your identity

And it also shows something many people need to hear:

The enemy will try to weaponize your emotions against you.

If the enemy can turn grief into guilt… and guilt into isolation… and isolation into hopelessness…then you’re not just fighting demons…

You’re fighting the collapse of your inner world.

That’s why this chapter is not “just action.”

It’s wisdom.

✨ Your Next Step

Let’s make the takeaway crystal clear so readers aren’t confused.

If your mind has felt heavy… if your thoughts have felt intrusive… if you’ve felt exhausted fighting what’s in your head…

Ask yourself these questions:

What emotion have I been carrying that I haven’t processed yet? (Grief, guilt, anger, fear, shame, disappointment)
What lie keeps repeating in my mind like it’s a soundtrack? (“I’m not enough.” “I’m too far gone.” “God is done with me.”)
What happens to my thoughts when I’m tired, hungry, isolated, or overstimulated? (Because spiritual attacks often hit hardest when your body is depleted.)
Who do I need to tell, “I’m not okay,” before this becomes dangerous? (Silence is not always strength.)
What is one truth from Scripture I can repeat when the darkness talks? Pick one and keep it on your tongue.

Here’s a starter truth for your readers:

“God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

🕊️ A Declaration for the Mind

Speak this out loud:

My mind belongs to God.

My emotions are real, but they are not my master.

My grief will not become my prison.

My sorrow will not become my identity.I will not partner with hopelessness.

I will fight for my peace, I will ask for help, and I will hold on—until the light breaks through.

📚 Ready for More of the S.O.L.A.D.™ Saga?

If this post spoke to you, that’s because it’s not just fiction—it’s spiritual truth dressed in story.

S.O.L.A.D.™: Soldiers of Light Against Darkness™ is for readers who know: the real war isn’t always outside you—sometimes it’s inside you.

🛒 Get your copies here:www.tyronetonyreedjr.com/the-shop

And if you’re new to the series: start at Book I and watch how the spiritual warfare, character growth, and wisdom build layer by layer.

Because in this world… thoughts are battlegrounds. And the good news is: God still wins wars in the mind.