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Strategies for Conquering 3 D’s of the devil

” The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.” John 10:10

The thief of our joy. The thief of our love. The thief of our peace. The enemy of our souls seek to rob us, to kill us and to destroy us. And if we are not careful, we can find ourselves making the job easy for him. Like leaving a purse or iPad visibly in a vehicle, we can make ourselves targets for his thievery.

And a few times already this week he was nearly successful in ensnaring me. Boy, did he try it. At every turn, it was seeming like I couldn’t catch a break. He was relentless is his pursuit to devour me. I am standing right on the precipice of my kingdom NEXT. I can feel it stirring deep within. Do you know that feeling? The feeling so strong you can literally feel it on your physical person? God is up to something MAJOR! And the enemy is agitated. So he’s stirring strife with my children, planting false evidence, and even literally blindsiding me with objects. BUT GOD! I am determined all the more to KEEP PRESSING!

Here are three ways I’ve seen and experienced the enemy’s tactics. He’s being put on blast so you won’t be caught unaware. Then the next time he comes with some of this tomfoolery, you’ll see it a mile away and you’ll be able to defeat him as he is already a defeated foe. That work was completed on the cross so let’s walk it out. But this is what he tries to do.

DISCOURAGEMENT

Have you lost your enthusiasm, belief, and fervor in something you used to be passionate about? Have you tried at something and tried again with no success so you resigned that you were no good at it and you threw in the towel? Have you made a big mistake and felt like a failure? That was me yesterday. I made a big mistake and a costly one at that. And for a good part of the day I was so discouraged. I began to talk craziness to myself saying, “Why even bother? See you can’t even get this one small detail right. Just forget it! Everything you’ve worked for, just let it go.” One mistake and I was nearly ready to give up everything. That’s how discouraged I was. Then my kind teenage son said to me, “Mommy you got this!”, to which I nearly came undone because in that moment I didn’t feel I had “that” situation or anything else for that matter.

And this is exactly his MO, to get you to look confidence; to lose confidence in yourself and confidence in the God you serve. He wants you to become so disheartened that you lose hope. My friends, be reminded, God is THE GOD of HOPE! The God of hope will FILL you with all joy and peace as you trust Him (Romans 15:13) and He will renew your strength (Isaiah 40:31).

So how do you keep from being discouraged?

  • Speak the Word of Truth over your situation
  • Thank the Lord for all that He has taught you, shown you, and for the never-ending loved He has lavished on you
  • Celebrate your wins! Yes you may have had a stumble, but you can get back up again to keep pressing toward the mark

DISSUASION

He starts whispering lies and half truths in your ear in an attempt to persuade you that God isn’t who He says He is and won’t do what He says He will do. Just like he did in the garden with Eve, deception slides off his tongue. He will try his best to scare you off, to convince you otherwise, to advise against and to get you to question what’s actually true.

How do you keep from being dissuaded?

  • Encourage yourself in the Lord
  • Have prayer partners and accountability partners who remind you of the truth and promises God has already declared over you
  • When the deception comes slithering in, be armed by meditating on the word of God. Take the lies captive and replace them with truth. Continually abide in God by communing with Him all day, every day

DISTRACTION

God desires to be the focal point of our attention and affections. He urges us to seek the kingdom first. Let us keep our eyes, our hearts and our minds focused on Him. “Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.” Proverbs 4:25

But it is oh so easy to get distracted. Every second of the day things are clamoring for our attention. I told you that the enemy was trying me this week right? Just the other day I was heading to shoot the final photo for my upcoming book, 30 Days 30 Ways to Salad Heaven. (For some salad inspo while you wait for the new book, check this post HERE) If you’ve been around for any length of time, you know honoring the temple is near and dear to my heart. So I stayed up late prepping some of the food and rose extra early to head out. And on the way out the door, an item caught my eye that literally changed the trajectory of my entire morning. That one, insignificant item caused a whole ripple of friction with the children. I had to call my husband who was on his way to work. The whole scenario was just a MESS! By the time I headed out the door to go to the shoot, I was completely out of sorts. I was emotionally distraught, agitated and outright distracted. “Holy Spirit intervene! Help me God”, was my cry.

To be distracted is to have become DIS-TRACKED, off track and off the course God intends you to be on. Check out this video HERE as Minister Kevin Winters dives deep into the concept of being dis-tracked. This teaching was a real eye opener.

How do you keep from being distracted?

  • STAY FOCUSED – be tethered to God’s word, not looking to the left or the right but eyes focused on the Father, observing to do all He has commanded (Joshua 1:8)
  • Guard your ear and eye gates. Be very mindful of the type of information, words, and images you allow to enter your person
  • Recognize the little things for what they are and don’t sweat the small stuff. Ask yourself will this matter in a day, in a month, in a year? If it’s insignificant, just chill as my 15 year old would tell me

The devil uses these D’s, discouragement, dissuasion and distraction to get our focus off the kingdom. He tries doubt, depression, deception and a whole host of other D words to try to break us. But my God knows a thing or two about D’s also. He is the God of deliverance, decisiveness, dexterity, diligence, defense, detail, distinction, and dunamis (power). With His Spirit empowering you, the Father loving you and Jesus’ blood covering you, you are duly equipped to conquer the D’s of the devil.

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

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Engaged In Spiritual Battle

I am weary. I am weak. I am worn. But I stand.

 

Having done all to stand, I still stand. It seems as if I’ve been in an ongoing spiritual battle. Perhaps the battle has been underway for a very long time. Perhaps I’m just coming to the realization of what’s been going on. I thank the Lord that He has given me greater sensitivity, “eye to see” and “ears to hear” what He is doing in the earth. The rate at which he’s been revealing has been accelerated and I stand in awe that He longs to show me great and mighty things. Though being a recipient of these revealed mysteries has not been without a fight.

 

At every turn it seems as if plans have been thwarted, dreams have been obliterated, and relationships fractured. But God…I stand on his word and I stand on His promise that no weapon formed against me shall prosper. They may form, and they may even try to take root, but they will not prosper.

 

My General, my Commander is Jehovah Sabaoth, The Lord of Hosts. He is the head and has all sovereignty in heaven and on earth. And He goes before me in battle. Radiant in all His glory He leads us into battle.

 

Who is the King of glory?

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies—

he is the King of glory.

Psalm 24:10

 

What He’s shown me is He is simply looking for you! Yes you. His eyes are looking on the earth for those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. Friend as we worship, we fall in line, right behind Jehovah Sabaoth. He is flanked by angels and believers of times past. His army is ever growing. And while it appears that the enemy has an even larger army with more powerful weaponry, He wants you to open your spiritual eyes so that you can SEE.

 

So he answered, “Do not fear,

for those who are with us are

more than those who are with

them.” And Elisha prayed, and

said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes

that he may see.” Then the Lord

opened the eyes of the young man,

and he saw. And behold, the mountain

was full of horses and chariots of fire

all around Elisha.

2 Kings 6:16-17

 

And how do you open your spiritual eyes to see this reality, His reality? Through worship.

 

Thank you God for opening my eyes to see so that I do not have to fear. Friend, neither do you have to fear. Just be strong and courageous.

 

In the midst of battle last week, I called a friend to pray. Having other strong believers to unite with in prayer is crucial. And while we were connected physically on the phone, we were both filled with an immense awareness of the mighty moves that were taking place as our spirits connected. My friend told me to “Stand and Watch. Stand and Watch”. And just today, another friend, without prior knowledge of last week’s conversation sent me precisely the word applicable to my current situation. Which also happened to be a RIGHT ON TIME word for a different friend with whom I had been praying just earlier in the day. You see, this is how God operates. We are all spirits and when we worship him in spirit and in truth, His truth resonates through the body of believers and we see the TRUE CHURCH! A united body of believers not only connected within a physical church but whose spirit are available and united to carry out kingdom activity in the spirit realm.

 

Standing, watching, fully engaged in battle. Shoulders almost unable to bear the weight, calf muscles feel like they’re on fire but I stand.

 

Now then, stand still and watch

this great thing the LORD

is going to do right before your eyes.

1 Samuel 12:16

 

But you will not even need to fight.

Take your positions; then stand still

and watch the LORD’s victory. He is

with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem.

Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out

against them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you!”

2 Chronicles 20:17

 

While I stand having done all to stand, I am still weary. Donning each piece of my spiritual armor is taxing.   The armor is extremely heavy. I feel like my spiritual legs resemble my natural legs after doing 50 straight squats. I’m sweaty and quite frankly maybe even a little smelly but…

 

I’m STILL STANDING!

 

I’ve been listening to Chris Tomlin’s “Whom Shall I Fear” for weeks now. You can read more about that and what to do when under attack by clicking here. It is because of my worship that I’m still standing. It is because of my worship that I can SEE Jehovah Sabaoth right before my eyes. It is because of my worship that I can patiently wait.

 

And while I stand and wait and worship, God is faithful to continue ministering to me. He gave me a new song this week that continues to minister hope and love and peace.

When you are open, God can and will use different medium to minister his grace and truth to your spirit. It may be a song, a line of scripture, a word from a Pastor, or even a blog post. And for me right now the message continues to be to stand and my song, Jonathan Butler’s “I Stand On Your Word”, confirms it.

 

So friend, I invite you to join me in prayer. We must be ever so sensitive as to what is happening in the spirit realm so we can move and act accordingly. While I am engaged in spiritual battle, I stand. In standing we are not just passively waiting, our spiritual muscles are engaged and we worship.

 

Eternal God, Most Gracious and Holy Father, you alone are the only wise God. It is to you we look for direction. You are all knowing and all powerful. And right in the midst of holding the universe together, you are concerned about us. You see us, you know us and you love us and for that we just say thank you. We thank you for purifying our hearts and making us new. Jehovah Sabaoth, the enemy has been relentless in his attacks against us but we thank you that you’ve given your angels charge over us and they bear us up. We thank you that you deliver us from the evil one’s snare. By the authority given to us we cancel every plot or scheme devised to bring us harm. We cast the imps of division, strife, rebellion, fear, anxiety, depression, and confusion back into the pit of hell. You O God are our refuge; our fortress and a very present help in the time of trouble. Out of your immense love for us, you will deliver us, honor us and satisfy us with long life and for that we say thank you. With the fruit of our lips we say thank you. We lift holy hands and say thank you. You are worthy to be praised! Amen.

 

Still Standing!

 

Inspired Fully

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

Delighted to connect with others encouraging the Body of Christ @ Purposeful Faith, Life Giving Linkup, Grace and Truth , Dance With Jesus

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Under Attack

The three attacks came. Right on the heels of each another. Within 48 hours, three incidents that completely floored me. I was under attack.

 

I am a person who walks around with rose-colored lenses on. I hope for the best and believe the best about people. So I was completely caught off guard when I was attacked and at church no less.

 

And to make matters worse, I was coming off a week of being totally immersed in the presence of the Holy Spirit. So engulfed was I in His presence that I didn’t see it coming. I open, accessible and vulnerable. After the attacks, I was left feeling hurt, wronged and violated.

 

One physical attack to my body. From face to feet, full body rash. Guess now I know I’m allergic to a particular type of antibiotic. This is exactly why I don’t take medicine. But I trusted the Dr. and I didn’t want my thumb to fall off or create another series of problems so I consented to taking this medication. Well, guess it caused another problem after all. So here I was with this full body rash and was scheduled to speak early the next morning on the topic of “Restoration of the Body”. I was self conscious about what to wear because I had red alligator skin from head to toe. Even my lips were swollen. But God is faithful. My friend helped me select a dress that covered most of the redness and prayer helped calm my nerves.

 

That was immediately followed by vicious attacks from people. My heart is hurting just thinking about it. All my heart wants to do is encourage, support and love people and to have that stepped on and crushed is devastating.

 

The pain from these events caused me to:

 
~Emotionally Eat

I ate a box of Junior Mint and I don’t normally eat candy. But it was comforting to mindlessly eat something sugary. I did resist the urge to get a big cup of coffee. I only wanted the coffee as a means to assuage my hurt feelings.

 

~Want To Give Up

I clearly know the things God has called me to do. And I’ve readily said yes to carry them out. But when faced with personal attacks, I questioned the Lord and wondered why I even bother coaching, supporting, giving, encouraging. My thoughts were, ”Really Lord?! Do I need this drama? I can just be at home, caring for me and mine.” I even told my friend as much. To which she quickly reminded me of the truth. This is a spiritual battle and I must engage accordingly. So when you find yourself engaged in battle, there is no need to panic, flee or overreact. Take a deep breath and engage by using the tools in your arsenal.

 

 

PRAY

Ask God to give you eyes to see and ears to hear the truth in the situation

Pray for all parties, entities involved

 

PROTECT

Put On Your Armor (Ephesians 6:10-20)

Take Cover (Psalm 91)

Know that Jehovah Sabaoth, The Lord of Hosts goes before you

When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.

 

PRAISE

Your praise is your battle cry

Praise Him that you’ve already secured the victory

This is the chorus to a song I love. It reminds me God is on my side, Chris Tomlin’s Whom Shall I Fear

“I know who goes before me

I know who stands behind

The God of angel armies

Is always by my side

The one who reigns forever

He is a friend of mine

The God of angel armies

Is always by my side”

 

Be encouraged friends. When you are purposefully pursuing Christ, fiery darts will come your way to try to deflate you, distract you and discourage you. But God! You are an overcomer. You are a valiant soldier. You are victorious!

 

Let us pray. I lift my eyes to the hills, where my help comes from. Jehovah Sabaoth, Lord of Hosts, who is mighty in battle, thank you for loving me and protecting me. You are a very present help in the time of trouble. If You, Oh God are for me, who can be against me? I am more than a conqueror through You who loves me. Let every tongue that rises against me in judgment be put to shame. Let every plot, trap and scheme of the enemy be cancelled in Jesus’ name. Lord I thank you for the intercessors that are praying on my behalf. May you bless them indeed. Thank you for giving your angels charge over me. Thank you for securing the victory!

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
Happy to connect with friends @ Fellowship Friday’s

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