They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. Ephesians 4:18

“You are insignificant … Nobody cares about you … You have nothing of any real value to offer … Things will never change … It’s hopeless.”

I wonder if any of those words seem a little too familiar.

I’ll confess I’ve heard them myself. Many times. But they weren’t spoken by another person. I heard them in my own mind.

Whether we openly admit it or not, we all have fears that rob us of the blessings God longs to pour out. Messages often rotate through our thoughts on auto play, keeping us captive to their deceptions.

Beloved, we sin every time we believe them.

We all easily recognize things like lying, stealing, cheating, and lust as sin. But God hates everything that separates us from Him. And much of the time, what separates us from Him are the thoughts and attitudes we maintain that defy His Word.

When we believe we’re insignificant, God says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.” Jeremiah 1:5

When we believe nobody cares, God says, “…I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Jeremiah 31:3

When we believe we have no value, God says, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

Beloved, every time we actively believe messages that contradict God’s truth, we sin. And that sin separates us from the life of God.

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. Ephesians 4:18

It’s time we step from ignorance into faith, dear one. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. His sacrifice freed us from the powers of darkness that rob us of abundant life. But we’ll only experience the life Jesus offers when we choose to believe Him.

Beloved, those messages repeatedly filling your head do have a source. The enemy of your soul planted them in your mind and heart. And every time we trust his words over what God speaks, we fall into the same sin Adam and Eve committed in the garden. We reject God in favor of his enemy. And we give the enemy power he isn’t meant to have.

You and I need to stop bowing down to the wrong spirit.

Isaiah 51:22-23 makes a bold promise.

Thus says your Lord, the Lord, your God who pleads the cause of his people: “Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more; and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors…”

Jesus has turned the tables on our tormentors—the ones filling our heads and hearts with darkness. Who are those tormentors? Ephesians 6:12 describes them.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

We fight a very real battle against spiritual influences. They pursue us relentlessly, trying to get our hearts to agree with their dark, oppressive messages. The rest of Isaiah 51:23 reveals where they get their power.

“…who have said to you, ‘Bow down, that we may pass over’; and you have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to pass over.”

I wonder if that scripture brings out the same repulsion in you that it does in me. Nobody likes the feeling of being walked on. But that’s exactly how the Word of God describes man’s posture with the enemy.

The cross of Christ released us from our position under the enemy’s feet, beloved. But we have a nasty habit of placing ourselves right back under them. Notice how they get their power. “Who have said to you, ‘Bow down, that we may pass over.’” All our spiritual enemies can do is suggest behavior to us. We position ourselves under their feet every time we believe them.

Beloved, the enemy and his forces have been using our bent backs as their streets and bridges.

But you and I hold the power to stop them, dear one. Jesus set us free from Satan’s authority and placed him firmly under our feet. To manifest that victory, we simply need to start believing what God says.

The next time one of those thoughts comes knocking, don’t entertain it. Your story has been rewritten with Jesus’ blood. The enemy can’t tell you who you are. He doesn’t own you anymore. Only God has that right. Choose to believe what God says, and His Spirit will empower you to stand.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7