Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7 (NKJV)
When we submit ourselves to the Lord we need to submit all of our circumstances to Him too. He not only lifts us up out of the pit of despair, but builds up our faith so we are able to face doubt, worry, fear, and all that is weighing us down. These feelings are not from God and we need to stop believing these lies from the devil. The truth is it is not always the devil doing this to us, but we bring it on ourselves. Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy.
I know that when I have done something wrong I am pretty hard on myself. I find it hard to forgive myself and really just want to avoid the situation all together. Although we are not going to grow if we run and hide from our mistakes. We should learn from them and do better the next time. When we think harshly about ourselves the devil seems to come in and keep us distracted from what is going on around us. The devil wants us to wallow in self pity and drown in our feelings.
What I am trying to say is when we are feeling down we need to rely on God to lift us up so we can be used by Him at any given time. For instance, this morning I was thinking about something I did wrong and couldn't write anything. My mind was racing and even though God helped to ease my mind and thoughts I knew I needed to be there for someone else. I have a friend who is going in for emergency surgery and I should have prayed for this family the instant I heard this. I had to call someone else who would pray for them.
Here are some verses that we can apply when defeating the enemy:
1. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
2. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the devil's schemes.
(Ephesians 6:11)
3. The Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.
(2 Thessalonians 3:3)
4. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. (Luke 10:19)
5. The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. (Deuteronomy 28:7)
6. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)
7. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)
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