10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 19And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Ephesians 6:10-20 KJV
Part of walking with Jesus is learning to recognize and defeat the enemy… [“…your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seekng whom he may devour:” 1 Peter 5:8]. The Holy Spirit let me know quickly this was going to be a vital part of my walk…. Learning to defeat the enemy…and not just for myself but standing in the gap for others as well….But, before I could help anyone else out in defeating the enemy the holy spirit had to teach who I was in Christ… and although the full meaning of that statement would come into years later…he was about to begin the process!!
When you are beginning to take a stand for Christ…and learning what it means to reject the old self….your going to come under great fire from the enemy. This fire can come in many different ways. Sometimes it is a full frontal attack on your mind…your sanity. For the word of God says, [The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10].
Up until this point in my walk with Jesus was mostly one on one with the Holy Spirit… being taught the word of God and learning to discern the spirits …learning to recognize my place and who I was….who God wanted me to be in him. I was still a baby in Christ but he had given me the tools I needed thus far and he wasn’t about to leave me alone. He had prepared me for my first real battle, the battle for my mind. I was about to take a stand against the devil. Ephesians 6: 10-20; Mathew 16:19; Mathew 18:18 are a few of the essentials in learning to stand against all the devil brings.
The enemy launched an attack and the assaults would come in the form of FEAR. I became afraid…afraid in my home…afraid in a crowd… afraid driving…afraid of everything…I was becoming paralyzed with fear. It was sudden and it was hard! …and I was alone… no one knew it…I shared it with no one not even my husband. One day, I remember this so vividly, I was sitting in my car at the end of my drive way and I couldn’t move… The overwhelming sense of fear grabbed me and I just knew that if I left my drive way…If I pulled out on the road something bad was going to happen… Simultaneously, I was afraid to stay home… I was stuck…I couldn’t go forward and I could go back… At that moment, I could feel insanity creeping in… it was horrifying… Who am I if can live my life? Right there, in that moment…as I was sitting in my car…it was as though a light was shinning in the darkness. A small voice in the back of my mind was whispering. “Jesus”….very softly I could hear, “Remember who you are…remember I give you peace…a sound mind…I am not the author of fear…it is time to stand!" In that second, I received power… I received power to stand…Not by my might, because trust me I had none, but by the power of the Jesus Christ I opened my mouth and begin to speak…I thanked God for loving me and saving me and I thanked God for the power over evil spirits. I proclaimed Jesus as the Lord and savior of my life… I thanked him for binding in heaven what I bind on earth and I rebuked the spirit of fear. I then loosed the Holy Spirit to take over fill it me with the spirit life and of joy and a sound mind. Taking a deep breath, I then slowly began to pull out of my drive way…. And it was gone…. As quick and sudden as it had come… the spirit of fear left…in Jesus name it left… The fear was gone! Immediately all I could do was thank the Lord for delivering me…. What a Glorious God we serve and what a powerful lesson I learned!
