Good versus Evil
You can choose to love and obey God and overcome evil with good or you can believe the lie and let evil win. It’s a battle between good and evil and you are in the middle of it.
It’s scary to know this. That’s why it’s not popular to talk about it. It’s easier to ignore it, to pretend this isn’t happening or be unmindful that it is happening. But when so many people, especially young people are stressed, fearful, anxious, and even committing suicide, it’s scarier not to talk about it. Look around and you’ll see so many losing the battle. It’s scarier to see all these people suffer, and they have no clue what’s really going on and why they are really suffering. It’s scarier to see so many clutter the problem with complexity by focusing on all the symptoms instead of understanding and focusing on the root cause. It’s scarier to see so many losing a battle they have no idea they are in. If you don’t know you are in a battle but your enemy does, you will surely lose.
How do you win the battle?
You have to know how the battle is being waged. Because evil used these Five D’s to cause them to forget who they were and disobey God. These are the same Five D’s evil continues to use to cause us to forget our identity so that evil can defeat us.
Doubt
Self-doubt ironically doesn’t come from self. Remember that God made you perfectly and you are the way you are for a reason and a purpose. The fact that you doubt who you are and your future means the enemy is filling your mind with doubt. You would never do that to yourself. Your identity is being attacked and the bullying is a painful experience that is reinforcing this doubt and causing you to forget you are a child of God
That’s because the enemy is filling your mind with these doubts and fears. You would never choose doubt so remember these doubts aren’t coming from you. These doubts appear and then you feel like you must be perfect to compensate. You don’t trust God so you try to be perfect like God. But you aren’t perfect and you know this and it causes a lot of stress.
The enemy is good at convincing people to ignore God’s miracles that exist all around them. So don’t blame yourself. You didn’t know how the battle was being waged but now you do. Now you know it starts with Doubt. The enemy knows if he can get you to doubt God you will believe his lies. And if you believe his lies you won’t trust God. It’s a game of deception but we are on to it. This leads us to the next D’s, and they are Distort and Discourage.
Distort and Discourage
The enemy creates doubt by lying to us. He distorts truth with lies. The lie is in your head and you believe it. Then you reinforce it by repeating it to yourself. You identify with it, and it becomes a part of your identity. You may even reinforce it further by telling others. Then you feel discouraged. That’s the third D. Discourage. The enemy distorts truth with lies to cause you to doubt and become discouraged.
He fills our minds with lies. Lies that we aren’t enough. That our future is hopeless. That we don’t have what it takes to succeed. That no one loves us or will love us. That our best days are behind us. That we aren’t smart enough, tall enough, good enough. That our dream won’t happen. That our mistakes of the past define us. That we are going to mess up on stage in front of thousands of people.
We give up because we get discouraged. The enemy lies to us so that we will make a bad choice or so that we will get discouraged and give up. And in many cases the bad choices come first, we get discouraged by the outcomes our choices produce and we give up as a result. The enemy doesn’t beat us. Through the lies we believe, he gets us to beat ourselves.
So what’s the answer? You recognize the lies.
And you don’t believe them. Just because you have a negative thought doesn’t mean you have to believe it. Don’t believe the lies. And don’t beat yourself up for the thoughts in your head that are not coming from you. No more guilt, discouragement, or shame.
You are loved. You have value. You are worthy. You are a child of God. You are loved by God. There is a plan for your life. You have greatness inside of you and in every moment, you have the capability to do great things. The best is yet to come if you choose to believe it.
Distract
The enemy uses distractions all the time to catch our attention and lead us away from what matters most. The enemy is a master of distraction and getting our attention with things that are pleasing to the eye and desirable but distract us from what matters most.
It often starts out as something that seems appealing and harmless but then has a disastrous effect. It’s just some candy, and the next thing you know you are addicted to sugar. It’s a nice car, and then you are going into major debt to pay for it instead of investing in your future. It’s just money. Next thing you know you are working harder and harder to accumulate more of it instead of spending quality time with the ones you love and who love you.
So cars, money, and candy are bad for you? None of them are bad; well, maybe candy is bad for your health.
The point is that distractions are bad for you. If it’s not a distraction, it’s not necessarily bad. But anything that is a distraction is bad for you. Distractions are the enemy of greatness. And a distraction is anything that keeps you from what matters most.
What matters most?
First, what matters most is your relationship with God. Second, what matters most is becoming all that God created you to be. Third, what matters most is your relationships with others.
Divide
Why does evil want to divide us?
Because that’s what evil does. It divides in order to defeat.
Unfortunately, evil is very good at dividing and defeating us. Just look at the world today and you can see more division than ever. More people are feeling divided from God and themselves. They are dealing with stress, fear, and anxiety and giving up as a result. More families are being divided by divorce. People feel more separated from each other even though they have more ways to connect than ever. The enemy is having a field day dividing our country politically, racially, and every way possible.
Evil is causing many to look at what makes them different instead of what they have in common. When you look at the world’s problems, so many believe the lie that they are separate from each other when actually we are all one. The soul doesn’t know nationality or religion or skin color. The soul knows oneness and love. God made us to be one, and yet we allow the enemy to divide us.
It’s a spiritual battle and the enemy uses the Five D’s to win the battle against God and us. When we lose this battle, it leads to the sixth D. In a marriage, this sixth D is Divorce. In a person, the sixth D is Destruction. In a team, the sixth D is Defeat. The enemy uses the Five D’s to separate us from God, and this process leads to divorce, destruction, and defeat.
Win the Battle
When the enemy fills your mind with doubt, the simplest, most powerful solution of all is to trust God.
Remember that the doubt isn’t coming from you. Don’t believe it. Trust in God. Trust that He is with you. Throughout scripture God never said it would be easy. He said,‘I will be with you.’ Even though you can’t see him and it often feels like He is far away, you need to trust that He is walking right beside you. Trust that God has a plan for your life
It’s easier said than done. It’s hard to trust when you feel like everything in life is against you and you don’t feel like God is on your side.
This is why so many don’t trust. They look at their circumstances rather than to God. They look at their challenges rather than to God, who will help them overcome their challenges. Many say, ‘Show me God and I will trust you.’ But it works the other way. When you trust, God will show you.
Not always right away.
It feels like that often, and it can be scary and discouraging. At times we feel abandoned. But that’s because we want God to work according to our timeline instead of His. We want God to be like FedEx and deliver overnight. But some miracles take time.
When you don’t feel like trusting, trust. Trust in the one who created you. Trust in the one who walks with you. Trust in the one who loves you. Trust in the one who has a plan for your life and gives you hope and a future. When your trust is greater than your doubt, you are on your way to winning the battle.
