I wonder if we’d read our Bible differently if it were subtitled: The Demon Slayer and Joy Releaser’s Manual?

Did you know you are in a battle? An unseen battle, but one with very high stakes.

Have you learned to recognize when your adversary speaks to you? Whispering lies and pushing buttons that send you spiraling through destructive thought patterns or behaviors.

It’s a daily battle. For some of us a moment-by-moment struggle with our thoughts. We don’t get to take a vacation from it, or call time out for a break.

Sometimes the battle is so exhausting, so defeating, we just put our oars in the boat and let ourselves be dragged along the current of the enemy’s choosing.

Did you know Jesus gave us strategies so we wouldn’t have to live in a state of battle-weariness?

I believe a religious spirit causes us to read Bible passages with such familiarity that we don’t see them as strategies. As a call to action.As a way to defeat the enemy and learn to walk in freedom.

A Way Out

Would you be game to practice what He’s laid out, if I told you it will lead you into a place of peace and joy?

It won’t be easy and it may even feel uncomfortable. And, of course, it takes effort.

You will have to put those oars back in the water and paddle, straining against the lies until they begin to lose their power.

But wouldn’t it be worth it? Wouldn’t feeling joy—–unspeakable, and overwhelming joy be worth whatever effort you have to make?

He’s made a way for you. He did all the work to purchase your freedom. Now we need to find the keys to unlock those freedoms and start accessing them. Pulling on them. Replacing lies with truth.

The Lies Satan Sells

But sometimes the lies are so deeply entrenched, we don’t see them as lies: I’m worthless; I’ll never amount to much, just like he said I wouldn’t; Life is hard and that’s just the way it is and always will be; I’m a hopeless case; He’s a hopeless case; Why try, it will never get better; I don’t deserve to be happy; If she knew what I’d done, she’d never be saying I could have freedom. It will never happen for me; I’m beyond hope and always will be; Why try, nothing good ever happens to me.

These are just a few of the lies the enemy detonates in our minds. HE IS A LIAR. And when we believe those lies, we empower his presence in our life.

Every lie that we give a nod to, choose to agree with, gives the enemy deeper access to our lives. Did you know that?

We have to start getting good stuff in—–the truth—–to nullify and disempower the lies.

Right now the lies are so familiar, we don’t even notice our agreement with them. We truly believe those lies are the reality. But they are not the final word.

What Jesus Says About You

Jesus says to you: I have given you life that you may have it more abundantly (John 10:10). You are dearly loved and precious in my sight (Col. 3:12). I delight in you (Psalm 149:4). Nothing you have gone through is beyond my reach
(Isaiah 41:10). Nothing you have done, no sin you have committed is irredeemable (Rom. 3:23-24). I paid for it all. I paid for every sin, for every wrong you have committed (2 Cor. 5:21). My love is freely and abundantly given to you. I died in your place so that you may have life and have it in abundance (Rom. 4:25). You are the apple of my eye
(Zech. 2:8). You are the delight of my heart (Zeph. 3:17). Nothing you can do or have done will ever separate you from the overwhelming love I feel for you (Rom. 8:38-39). You are my precious child (Isaiah 43:4). You are the beloved (Song of Solomon 6:3).

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to wake every morning knowing you are the beloved? Knowing God is singing over you and delighting in you.

That is the truth. Anything we believe to the contrary is deception. Satan is really really  good at knowing our weak spots, our tender areas of vulnerability, and then speaking lies into those areas to knock us off kilter.

Our Susceptibilty

We are susceptible to his lies because it’s easier for us to believe a negative than a positive. We are so used to thinking critically about ourselves that his lies slide easily into our agreement.

The biggest deception is: All those critical thoughts we have about ourselves didn’t originate with us.

They were spoken over us by others (at the enemy’s prodding), reinforced by our experiences (by the schemes of the enemy
[2 Cor. 2:11]), so that when he whispers them into our ears, we are already beaten down enough to agree.

And the whopper is they are the opposite of everything God says and believes about us in Jesus.

We are clothed in Jesus’ righteousness, not our own. It is not by our own works that He is pleased with us. It is through the work Jesus did (Eph. 2:8). Now the love? He has always loved us, even in our sinful state (John 3:16)—–the state we were in before we asked Jesus to clothe us in His righteousness.

Keys to Freedom

Ask God to show you the lie that keeps you from freedom. Then ask Him to reveal the truth that will overthrow the lie and dig it out of your belief system. Out of your heart.

For example, one of the biggest lies I believed  was that I was on my own. He continually reminds me that He is always with me (Deut. 31:6).

Start declaring the truth over yourself. Write it on some post-it notes and read it out loud every time you come across it.

Declaring the word of God will change your life—-but you have to speak it with conviction, with fire in your eyes! The declaration of a warrior who cries, “No more!” to the enemy (Heb. 4:12, Isaiah 55:11).

Go to battle. Get your life back. Don’t let the enemy steal from you any longer.

Prayer

Father, show me the lie that keeps me from You. That keeps me from walking in my true identity—-that of a dearly loved child. Your dearly loved child. Teach me how to walk in Your freedom. To read the word as a living and active sword that will remove wrong beliefs and replace them with living, breathing truth that will bring life and wholeness to my soul. Reveal Yourself as Love to me and teach me to love myself. Thank you! In Jesus’ name, amen.

Photos via Pixabay