The Vision

It’s times like these when one’s faith is tested; when God has given you a vision, the enemy will come to try to discourage you. The very name of Satan means adversary and slanderer. He tries to discourage all of God’s children and slanders God’s name by instilling fear and doubt into the mind of the believer. His very tactic is to flood our hearts with negativity so that we will lose faith in God’s word and promises.

I can be the first person to tell you how many times I let the enemy have a field day with my mind. I’ve let myself give into doubt so many times by listening to the voice of the enemy as he’s told me, “it’ll never happen” and “it’s too good to be true.” But these are lies straight from the pits of hell. Lying comes natural to Satan because whenever he speaks it is his native language, he is the father of lies and he doesn’t know any other way (John 8:44).

In order for us to defeat these lies we must root our faith in knowing God’s character. We must declare God’s sovereignty and eternal purpose in our lives through our Lord Jesus, to all the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 3:10-11). We must understand that God is not a human that he should lie or change his mind. When he speaks he comes through, and when he promises, he fulfills them (Numbers 23:19). Also, God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:5-7). As children of God we must walk in the light of his truth and believe when Jesus says “heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matthew 5:18; 24:35). He is the Great I am, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End (Revelation 22:13). He is also everything in between! He is the only being who is truly independent because all he needs is found in himself and so he can independently create anything out of nothing (Hebrews 11:3)! I love when Jesus tells his disciples this: What is impossible with man is possible with God (Luke 18:27).

With this truth in mind, I’ve learned something about myself. That something is that I have the heart of a child: one who loves Jesus with all of her being (Luke 18:16-17; Mark 12:30), but I also have the heart of a worrier (Luke 11:41). I’ve learned that worry is a sin. It doubts God’s word and his capabilities to take care of me (Matthew 6:25-34). Worry and anxiety steals one’s peace, joy, and sanity (Philippians 4:6-7). Worry says that I can do better than God, but the outcome is always worse (James 4:2-3).

Worry, doubt, and anxiety are definitely tools of the enemy to keep us from trusting God and to drive us away from God’s perfect will for our life (Romans 8:28-29; Ephesians 1:4-5). We even become partners with the enemy when we pay attention to his lies (Ephesians 5:6-7).

There is always hope for the believer in Jesus Christ. The bible says that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and that his power has been defeated at the cross (1 John 3:8; Colossians 2:15). When we believe and declare this truth we must submit ourselves to God and resist the devil, for it is written: he will flee from you (James 4:7). We must humble and surrender ourselves to God  by not conforming to the way the world thinks but to let our minds be renewed and transformed by the word of God. Then well grow to trust him and know what his good, pleasing and perfect will for us is (Romans 12:1-2).

The Lord also gives us many tools to combat against the attacks of the enemy. He gives us a full armor to wear and weapons to fight back (Ephesians 6:10-18, 2 Corinthians 10:3-6).

I find that whenever the enemy comes to put some random lie or thought in my head I quickly quote 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 and Isaiah 54:17. Doing this always gives me quick relief from those fiery darts that plague my mind and those evil imaginations are immediately extinguished and cast down- just like the bible says.

I’ve also found myself needing help to decipher between my own thoughts, the voice of the enemy and God’s voice. If you’re wondering how to do the same thing, just ask The Lord for wisdom, because “God gives it generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” You only need to believe, because “the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (James 1:5-8; 3:17). The bible also tells us in Philippians 4:6-7  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This peace we receive is a super natural gift that only Jesus gives. He tells us to not let our hearts (minds) be troubled and not to be afraid because the peace he gives is something special that can’t be found in the world (John 14:27).

And another gift that is ours as Christians is the mind of Christ through the Word of God. When we have the mind of Christ we have a sound mind, and those little voices are silenced by God’s word (Hebrews 4:12-13). In this way we begin to see the world around us the way Jesus does and we begin to walk by faith and not by sight.

So with this I leave you my friend, remind your problems how Great our God is, and you will see His hand deliver you to the promise land. The journey is never easy, but with Jesus all things are possible. Let your faith be louder than the voice of doubt and trust God as you follow his voice holding firm to his promises. All it takes is a little faith to see the greatness and glory of God in your life! Remember that it was God who placed that vision in your life and he will bring it into completion to fulfill his good purpose in Jesus’ name. 🙂

“See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.” (Hebrews 3:12-14)