Where does doubt come from and why is it so effective for the kingdom of darkness? Let us start with the very first attempt darkness made against one of God’s children. It seems that the very first lie was to say to us that we did not hear correctly from God and that we did not completely understand what God was saying. It seems that darkness wanted to re-interpret the instructions God had given to us and define it in a new darkness like way.
Does that sound familiar? How many times have you been given an instruction from God? You are all good to go on it and you are very excited about it and you can’t wait to get started. All of a sudden that dreadful thought comes to your mind and all of the air gets deflated out of your balloon. People come out of the woodwork to tell you that what you are about to do or what you are thinking is all wrong and it couldn’t possibly be from God. You are like oh nooooo!!! How could I be so wrong? Then people start to suggest that you have never heard from God and that you are all mixed up. This then settles to the very core of who you are deep within your soul. This is now a complete crisis and a complete distraction and waste of precious time.
You start to put out questions for signs and confirmations. You suddenly are amazed at how swiftly and quickly God answers you and you get excited all over again to accomplish wonderful things in the Lord. You can’t wait for the wheels to start turning and for you to get to where you are going. Then the nay Sayers come pouring back in and you go through the whole cycle again creating inner doubt and conflict.
You put out more questions because in your head you feel like you are crazy, losing your mind. There is no way what you heard is true, I mean like really?? Just take one look at your circumstances, there is no logical way that what you think God is saying to you is any way close to being possible. Then you allow your thoughts to wander endlessly in trying to prove that there is any shred of possibility. It seems hopeless. You must not be correct in what you are hearing. Does any of this ring true with any of you? What on earth is going on here? Day after day, night after night, begging and pleading with God to just be able to hear from him accurately.
Now I am not saying that we never get misled, but there comes to be a point where you have to ask the question is this doubting coming from God? There are a few things that I like to ask Abba about when I am in the middle of a doubting crisis. The first thing is to ask about whether there is any fruit that is coming from this or any other experience from my life. I am listening to the same voice from within as always. Have there ever been any occasions from where this voice and its instructions have yielded good fruit? The other question I ask is, Is this the way the Holy Spirit normally speaks, Does it line up with scripture in how the Spirit is being revealed to you? These are my top two questions and they really do help when your whole world seems to be crashing in around you and you are ready to throw in the towel.
Hmmmmm, is this the way the Holy Spirit works? To overwhelm you to the point of anger, frustration and giving up? This is absolutely not the way the Holy Spirit works in the lives of God’s kiddos. Scripture has much to say on this subject.
Let’s start at the very first example of how darkness works on us and let’s try to nip it in the bud the very next time these tactics are used on us. Genesis 3 shows us how the enemy caused Eve to doubt what God’s instructions to her were and how this doubt led to confusion and eventually led to sin.
Genesis 3 (NASB)
The Fall of Man
3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from [a]any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves [b]loin coverings.
8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the [c]cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
So the tactic here is to bring up something God has instructed us to do or not to do, and to drill us on it, and confuse us on it. Then while we are perseverating upon it and while the enemy is dropping false thoughts into our minds, the enemy springs a blatant lie on us, just when we least expect it. What was the lie here? You surely will not die, says the serpent. Trying to make God out to be evil and saying God is a liar. So what were God’s true instructions to Adam and Eve? Let’s go back and take a look.
Now this instruction was originally give to Adam, and it was clear and concise. There really is no room for misinterpretation here. Genesis 2 shows us the instruction.
Genesis 2:15-17
“15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not [n]eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”.”
We see here that the serpent blatantly lies to Eve and it is completely opposite from the truth. It seems to me that when the enemy is trying to get you to do the opposite of what God wants He lays it on thick. I never see the Holy Spirit laying it on thick like this. The pressure is intense, the panic is intense, the depression or the desire to give up is intense. The Holy Spirit seems to be gentle and kind, full of love and peace. Conviction is much different than guilt and condemnation.
Romans 8New American Standard Bible (NASB)
8 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life [a]in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do, [b]weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of [c]sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is [d]alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies [e]through His Spirit who dwells in you.
12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you [f]must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery [g]leading to fear again, but you have received [h]a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, [i]in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he alreadysees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
Our Victory in Christ
26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the [j]saints according to the will of God.
28 And we know that [k]God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was [l]raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of [m]Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written,
“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What does scripture say about conviction? Lets take a look.
But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.
For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
“Indeed God speaks once, Or twice, yet no one notices it. “In a dream, a vision of the night, When sound sleep falls on men, While they slumber in their beds, Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction, That He may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep man from pride; He keeps back his soul from the pit, And his life from passing over into Sheol. “Man is also chastened with pain on his bed, And with unceasing complaint in his bones; So that his life loathes bread, And his soul favorite food. “His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones which were not seen stick out. “Then his soul draws near to the pit, And his life to those who bring death. “If there is an angel as mediator for him, One out of a thousand, To remind a man what is right for him, Then let him be gracious to him, and say, ‘Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom’; Let his flesh become fresher than in youth, Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor; Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him, That he may see His face with joy, And He may restore His righteousness to man. “He will sing to men and say, ‘I have sinned and perverted what is right, And it is not proper for me. ‘He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit, And my life shall see the light.’ “Behold, God does all these oftentimes with men, To bring back his soul from the pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life.
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. “It is written in the prophets, ‘AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.
We have learned this day that all conviction comes from God who loves us and it is full of mercy. It is gentle and loving. Its result is fruit of life. It doesn’t promote you to give up and end up in despair.
Next it is pertinent that we take all thoughts captive. It is absolutely necessary as when we allow lies and mistruths to be entertained in our minds, we single handedly open up the doors and the windows to our soul house allowing a plethora of evil creatures to come filing in and overtake our homes. This is the home that scripture refers to here.
43 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds itunoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.” Matt 12:43-45.
Luke 11:16-36New American Standard Bible (NASB)
16 Others, [a]to test Him, were demanding of Him a [b]sign from heaven.17 But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “[c]Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against [d]itself falls. 18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 19 And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? So they will be your judges. 20 But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When [e]a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are [f]undisturbed. 22 But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. 23 He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.
24 “When the unclean spirit goes out of [g]a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”
27 While [h]Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.” 28 But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”
The Sign of Jonah
29 As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a [i]sign, and yet no [j]sign will be given to it but the [k]sign of Jonah. 30 For just as Jonah became a [l]sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
33 “No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. 34 The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is [m]clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is [n]bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness. 36 If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.”
We must guard our home and part of that home guarding means we keep the full armor of God on.
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against [e]flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 [f]in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 [g]With all prayer and petition [h]pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, [i]be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
This passage I feel is much less known, but equally as important.
New American Standard Bible
But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. I Thessalonians 5:8
Here we see that our breastplate of righteousness is Faith and love and our Helmet of salvation is Hope! We need To be faithful, loving and hopeful. This way of living ensures that our head and heart are protected. Our two most vulnerable spots in warfare and hand to hand combat. We can gather from scripture that Faith, hope and love will be with us for eternity. Some of the other things we know and use will not be necessary in the next age to come, but Faith, hope and love will always be. This is what scripture has to say on this subject.
1 Corinthians 13New American Standard Bible (NASB)
The Excellence of Love
13 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body [a]to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag andis not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 [b]bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of [c]prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I [d]became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror [e]dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the [f]greatest of these is love.
Having faith and love for ourselves and others will protect our heart and having hope will protect our mind. These of course must be the real kinds that are only possible with salvation and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. this I guess is the whole point. We cannot accomplish anything without God. The fruit is quite clear. This is what Father has to say about it.
Galatians 5:22-23 NASB
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
Notice how love is here again. Remember that God is love and that we are to be transformed into the likeness of God.
I John 4:7-8 NASB
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is [a]born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
Romans 12:2 (NASB)
2 And do not be conformed to this [a]world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may [b]prove what the will of God is, that which is good and [c]acceptable and perfect.
There are a few things that we must actively do to keep ourselves in a protected safe spot. I believe one of these things is to take the helmet of salvation and put it on. The battle rages in our mind and we need to have that helmet on to protect us. Have you ever thought about when you get an attack of thoughts? Did you ever say to yourself that the situation is no different now than when you were not thinking in such a destructive way. Did you wonder about why you had peace before and now you don’t? Considering that the situation itself did not change in the last few seconds, what really did change to rob you of your peace?
The words we allow ourselves to entertain can and will rob us of peace if we don’t take those words captive. I started trying to be right on top of this. I find myself always thinking and always feeling powerless and sad. I decided with the help of a dear friend, that I must always take my thoughts captive the moment they are dropped into my head. I must take a stand and stop being constantly tormented.
This is not what Father wants for me or for you. Well I have been doing this consistently for more than a full day, and it feels amazing. I have more peace and my thinking is more on good things just as it should be. It sure seems like our Father was really looking out for us when He compiled scriptures for us. This battle of the mind is so much easier if you follow some of these things. Philippians 4:8 is yet another example of how healthy thinking should be.
Philippians 4:8New American Standard Bible (NASB)
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is [a]lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, [b]dwell on these things.
We are commanded to perseverate on things that are good. Positive thinking is healthy and a command. I really believe what we think upon is what is going to come our of our mouths as well. Check out what this Proverb says.
Proverbs 18:21
21 Death and life are in the [a]power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.
Yahshua created our entire existence with words. He is the word. Just as it is written in John.
| John 1:1-5 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 [a]He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [b]comprehend it. This world is oh so dark and evil. The evil hates us if we love God, I do believe the darkness hates all humans even if they choose to reject God. The darkness wants to hurt all things that God created. It matters not whose team the humans are cheering for. Darkness wants to destroy them all. Those who are walking in light, the enemy wants to squish, and the enemy can’t so it is frustrating to the darkness, so they try everything under the sun, in order to trick us into thinking we are squished. By the way, it is the enemies head that is actually squished under our foot, hehehe!!! We have to remember this!! I will go back to the beginning once again. Here in Genesis 3:14-15 it shows us the place in which the Serpent, the author of this darkness, resides. This place is under our foot. Yes, the serpent will bite us for a moment, until it is squished dead under our foot. It was placed under our foot by God himself. Here is the passage of scripture. Genesis 3:14-15 14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Lastly, I wanted to mention how very difficult it has been for me to be ok with being rejected. Mostly, I want people to like me and accept me. I have come to realize that this is not reasonable. It is because most people will not ever understand me nor will they like what I am doing. The things that God shows me and the things that God has me do are by no means normal or even appearing as logical. The enemy is the great accuser of the brethren. We know this as it is mentioned in Revelation. Here we deduce that as we are informed that it will be stopped sometime in our future. What a glorious day that will be. Revelation 12:10New American Standard Bible (NASB) 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. The enemy brings these accusations to all those people around us, not just to God. There is a constant ringing of accusations towards us in the minds of people all around us. Mercy and love are not part of this at all. We must recognize this and stop partaking of this horrible enterprise. We must stop being pawns in this dark world and become vessels of Light and Love!! I find that it is much more advantageous to stop focusing on myself and my wants and keeping my eyes on Jesus and my face like flint. This I find to be extremely encouraging. This is found in Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews 12 (NASB) 12 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 [a]fixing our eyes on Jesus, the [b]author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary [c]and lose heart. We also must remember that we must stand firm. We must have confidence in who our Father is and how He helps us. Isaiah 50:7 says this. For the Lord God helps Me, He always equips us and trains us for battle. Let me remind you also that this battle is not against flesh and blood. It is a battle against the things most of us cannot see. We must rise up and fight and endure to the end. This world brings much pain and trauma, but we must overcome so we can help others find life and deliverance while still here on this earthly plane. This is the place, the only place we can find deliverance, freedom and life everlasting. The time is now and only now to find perfect peace and deliverance that will last for all eternity. Seriously, you all do not want to find yourselves begging God for mercy for all eternity, do you??? This is our opportunity to find hope and love. There is no other option that is perfect and healing on this earth or in any other dimension. The message is plain and clear. I hope you all really see the truth and hone in your focus. You are all needed to accomplish your purpose and rise up to your created destinies. This is the time and we must choose now. We must turn our eyes to Yahshua(Jesus) and never take them off of Him. We must not walk down the road to sheol, we must turn back and walk towards He that created us. We must embrace the wisdom of the Spirit. We must walk in truth and light. We must overcome this world and become victorious.
©2017 Jennifer Wallace
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