Posted October 18, 2024

An excerpt from the foreword of my book Conversations says, “The battle to influence your decisions with negative thoughts and wrong behavior is very real...to follow the crowd, get into stuff that is painful, pretending to enjoy it... no boundaries”. This work was written to spark the reader to take a look at what may be trying to capture you, your free will, and turn your actions toward self-destruction. John 10:10 tells us the thief, our enemy, doesn’t show up unless it is to kill and to steal and to destroy. As followers of Christ, we know, No weapon formed against us will prosper! (Isaiah 54:17).

Dr. Dharius Daniels says nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong or shouldn’t be. What do you do when it’s time to move forward, out of what’s holding you back, away from what others are content to stay in? Let’s take a look at Mark 5:1-20, where we find the story of a man who was a “prisoner”, possessed by demonic spirits. He spent all his time in a cemetery, among the tombs, inflicting pain and injuries on himself, wailing in anguish. Many of you will recognize this story because of what happened to a herd of pigs, now possessed with the demonic spirits Jesus had commanded to come out of the man. The pigs immediately ran wildly down toward the sea and drowned.

Dr. Marc Lavarin of First Calvary MBC, Durham NC, shared an observation with his congregation that this man, in the natural realm, was Not actually chained during his entire ordeal; the scripture says chains could not hold him. He had torn the chains apart, broken the shackles into pieces, however he still lingered in the cemetery. Jesus' authority over evil freed the man from what was controlling his actions in the spiritual realm. That power is available to us today, when we look to and ask the Lord to be our Savior.

So, what DO we do when we find ourselves lingering in what is painful and not working for our good? Dr. Lavarin made these points:

1. Move from the environment you’re in; don’t stay there. Your environment contributes to the person you are. It is impossible to grow in environments with dead people.

2. Overcome the people’s expectations. You are not responsible for what they are stuck in! Dr. Lavarin says, once this man got his mind back, the livelihood of those around him was disrupted, and they were filled with fear!

3. Overcome principalities. There IS an enemy in our life. When you face attacks, it is confirmation that you are moving in the right direction! In his sermon “Stop Staying in Limbo”, Bishop T.D. Jakes goes to 1 Kings 19 to tell how the prophet Elijah was in despair, believing the words spoken by Jezebel against him, a victim of his own “stinking thinking” about himself. Bishop Jakes says Satan wants you to say, “I’m Bad” instead of saying “I did a bad thing.” Our enemy wants you to say, “I’m a Mistake” instead of saying “I made a mistake”. Bishop Jakes affirms, "You’re still here, that’s victory all by itself!"

Dr. Dharius Daniels reminds us that worship and calling on the name of the Lord is a weapon of spiritual warfare. He also teaches seeking knowledge and encouragement as weapons of spiritual warfare. In his sermon series “I’m Bigger Than That” [part 5], Dr. Daniels asks us to remember: “Growth is painful, change is painful, never comfortable. But you don’t belong ‘broken’; you don’t belong ‘unhappy’, ‘unfulfilled’, or ‘confused’ ”. Trust and Believe that God is even More interested in your happiness and your success than You are!