Evil forces are attacking. Are you powerful enough to stop them? Yes, God’s daughter, you are!
Children, you belong to God, and you have defeated these enemies. God’s Spirit is in you and is more powerful than the one that is in the world. (I John 4:4, CEV)
When we accept Christ, we enlist as soldiers in a war we will fight every day of our lives on earth. But we fight to a certain victory; God’s Word reveals that He wins this war and grants His soldiers everlasting peace in Heaven. In the meantime, He gives us the power to overcome any attack. Tapping into His power enables us to experience far more life, even in the midst of the battle.
For His divine power has bestowed on us [absolutely] everything necessary for [a dynamic spiritual] life and godliness, through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. (2 Peter 1:3, AMP)
The most powerful evil forces we face are those that attack our mind, tempting us to disbelieve, distrust, and disobey God. We are tempted to sin through unforgiveness, selfishness, hatred, worry, shame, fear, and more. These temptations are attractive, even irresistible, in areas where we hold erroneous core beliefs about ourselves and God. Those core beliefs were usually developed when we were young and our immature minds could not recognize them as lies. Over time Satan tempts us to interpret circumstances in ways that reinforce those erroneous beliefs; when he succeeds, the lie gains credibility and we experience pain rather than far more life. Here are some of the most common lies Satan tells us about ourselves:
- I am alone.
- I am unloved.
- I am unlovable.
- I am worthless.
- I am not good enough.
- I am helpless.
- I am hopeless.
How do we fight these attacks? With God’s truth!
The weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood]. Our weapons are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5, AMP)
There are many Bible verses we can use as weapons against Satan’s lies. Here are a few:
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (I Corinthians 3:16, NKJV)
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39, NIV)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23, NIV)
I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13, NIV)
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. (Acts 1:8a, NIV)
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:17-19, NIV)
You are not alone. You are loved. You are lovable. You are valuable. You are good. You have help. You have hope. The verses above are just a sample of the weapons available for fighting Satan’s attacks. Memorize the verses that most powerfully communicate these truths to you so they are always available when you need them. That will allow you to more consistently experience far more life.
Sometimes we get ambushed and do not even realize we are engaged in battle until we have lost. We recognize we are not experiencing far more life but do not know how we got so far from it. This happens when Satan’s lies resonate with messages in our subconscious and we react without stopping to think about the underlying beliefs. How can we be more aware those ambushes? By monitoring our negative emotions. Whenever we feel angry, hurt, alone, ashamed, disheartened, worried, or other strong negative emotions it may mean our enemy is attacking us. Stop and ask, “Why am I feeling this way?” Digging into what you feel and why will reveal the underlying belief and enable you to compare it to God’s truth, win the battle, and continue walking in far more life.
Some battles are harder than others. You may have to fight through layers of negative feelings and painful beliefs to reveal the erroneous core belief. You may have to wrestle with doubts about God before embracing the truth from His Word. You may need help from fellow soldiers to penetrate the enemy’s lair and destroy his weapons. But take hope in this truth:
The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies. (Psalm 118:7, NIV)
God has secured the ultimate victory over Satan! In this lifetime, you will battle, but each battle takes you one step closer to final victory. Fight in His power — using His truth — today and celebrate far more life!
Sisters,
In your daily experience, is God’s Spirit in you more powerful than the forces attacking you?
How do you find far more life in the midst of battle?
What erroneous core belief is most tempting to you? What truth helps you overcome that false belief?
Pray that God will help you recognize today’s attacks and counter with the power and truth of far more life!
-Shari
Copyright 2019-20, Shari Damaso
Far More Life 