Are there times when you’re sitting and wondering why your life is falling apart and why it feels like you have no joy or inner freedom? There is a dark force that’s working against each one of us, and he is Satan. But have hope, because there is a way to have inner freedom and true joy, and He is Jesus!
Many people have heard of Jesus and have heard of this inner peace and joy that surpasses all understanding, but for most, it feels unattainable. This is the lie of the devil. He works hard to make sure you feel this way – that you feel like it’s impossible for you to have inner freedom.
In this article, I want to encourage you to seek out a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ and to help you gain knowledge about the power you receive over the devil when you accept Christ into your life to be your personal Lord and Savior – the One who makes Salvation possible for you.
In the following Scripture, Paul is praying for the believers (you and me), that they would know who Christ is and what they stand to gain in following Him. Paul understood spiritual warfare and the demonic forces that are working tirelessly against each of us, then and now.
It’s vital that you and I understand that Satan does have power in this world to deceive and tempt, and in some instances, bring harm to those who aren’t protected by the blood of Christ. It’s even more vital to understand that Christ is available to all who ask Him to be their King, and for those who do, to understand that they inherit the Spirit of God and the power within.
Ephesians 1:15-23
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
God placed Jesus at His right hand and gave Him all power and authority over every living thing above, below, and on earth. There is nothing in any space of all existence that doesn’t come under the authority and power of Christ, and all who accept Christ, receive all that He is and Has. We become His heirs.
Table of Contents
Who is Jesus?
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus is God. These Scriptures tell us that Jesus, The Word, was with God from the beginning and was God and was made flesh to dwell among us. Jesus is the Living God and the Living Word of God. Jesus was sent by the Father to redeem us from the enemy, Satan, so that we could be set free and be saved from the wrath of the Father that is to come to Satan and his followers.
Jesus accomplished this task when He was crucified on the cross for our sins, and three days later, when He was raised from the dead. Through His actions, He became the atonement for our sins, thereby making us clean before the Lord, and also, He bought us back from Satan, that Satan would no longer have power or authority or dominion over those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and King.
God is omnipresent, meaning, He is everywhere. There is no place that He doesn’t reside. This means that when you’re home alone or in the wilderness or driving on the highway or wherever you are, God is there. When you accept Christ into your life, His Spirit comes into you and dwells with you. You are never alone, but the devil will try to make you believe you are. This is often the first lie you must overcome.
If you’ve accepted Jesus, He is with you, and you with Him. Just as Satan worked to tempt Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), he will do the same to you. It’s up to you to understand when he is doing this and what power you have in you to shut him down immediately.
Who are you in Christ?
The best way to find true freedom in your life through Christ is to know who you are in Christ. Too many Christians are living defeated everyday because they either don’t understand who they are in Christ or they don’t understand the power they have through Christ in them.
The ways of the devil are evil and go against the ways of God. When you don’t live for God, you will live according to the ways of the spirit of the devil. Without the Spirit of God, there is no power or authority by which to shut the devil down. Without Christ, you’re powerless against the devil. It’s impossible to live a “good” life apart from Christ; it’s impossible to resist the devil without the power of the Holy Spirit.
I go over this in greater detail in the book, “Don’t let the devil defeat you”, I write about the experiences that helped me to see where the devil was causing problems in my life and work to get free and draw closer to Jesus.
But when you do accept Christ, you inherit the power to live as Christ lived and you fall under the protection of God. But you must make every effort to live as Christ lived and to be willing to resist and rebuke the devil as many times as he attempts to separate you from a right-standing relationship with Jesus. This may happen several times each day, and perhaps, each hour.
You have the power to live in a way that is pleasing to the Lord – the question is: will you take a stand against the enemy?
Ephesians 2:1-7
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 6:17
But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
Colossians 2:10
and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
When you accept Jesus, you become one Spirit with Him and you become complete in Him – He who has all power and authority over everything. You can have true inner peace, joy, and freedom because with the Spirit of God in you, there is nothing that can defeat you.
If you have Jesus in your heart, but have inner turmoil, it’s time to take a look into your life to see where you’ve given the devil a foothold. You must look and find what lies of the devil you have accepted. Start with your fears and rebuke the devil and those fears.
Fear and worry are the number one ways to lose your peace and joy, and the number one way to lose freedom in Christ is to give into sin and allow the devil to dwell in your life.
What power does the enemy have over you?
Luke 10:19
Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
The devil was given power over the world – to roam and work in the short time he has. However, this power is less than the power of Christ. If God gives you His Spirit, He is giving you power over the devil. There is never a time when a Christian is powerless to Satan, except when he or she believes that they are powerless to him and are living in constant sin.
You can’t believe his lies. You can’t allow the thoughts he puts into your mind to fester into fear and worry. The way to know his lies is to know the truth first. The bible is the Truth. It is the written Word of God. To see evil, you must have discernment and know good. If you spend time each day studying the bible, you will be filling your mind with truth. By doing this, when evil or something that is false comes along, you will notice it right away.
The same is true of sin. Sin is an action. Before sin is only thought. The devil doesn’t make people sin; he makes people think. God expects you to have a working knowledge through the bible of what is truth and how you’re required to live and act. So, when the devil is trying to plant a thought into your mind, you must use the unlimited wisdom and discernment that comes from the Holy Spirit to understand what that thought means and where it’s coming from.
The only reason Satan is gaining ground and winning souls to his army is because people either don’t understand what the devil is doing or because they won’t rebuke him and accept Christ. If you are a Christian, you must become a detective in a sense – what is this thought? Is it from God? If I act on this thought, will it be fruitful and pleasing to the Lord?
It’s important to understand that the devil operates on fear-based and me-based thoughts. The thoughts that come from God are those of encouragement and inspired by confidence and will be selfless and helpful.
If you struggle to discern between good and evil, ask the Holy Spirit for discernment and start reading the bible. Read the book of Proverbs and get a good sense of how God expects each of us to live. If God has told us to live a certain way or do a certain thing, understand that He will have already equipped us with all we need to do so.
If you are struggling with the devil, take a stand. Be sure that you have asked Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior in your life, do away with sinful living of any sort, and start renouncing the devil and each of his evil ways in your life.
As a child of God, if you command the devil to leave you in the name of Jesus, he must do it. But in order for him to actually leave and stay out of your life, you must also walk away from the sin and close the door to that sin, meaning, don’t keep returning to it. As long as you don’t give the devil a foothold in your life, he can’t come in. As long as you don’t live in perpetual sin with an unrepentant heart, the devil has no power over you.
Kick the sin and the devil to the curb and receive the freedom for your mind and life that is found in Christ.
How does God expect you to live as a Christian?
Nobody likes to be told what to do or how to live, however, God has a plan for your life. In order for that plan to unfold in your life the way God desires, you must first live the way He wants you to live. But by doing so, He is a faithful God who will protect you and guide you accordingly.
It’s important to know that not all followers of Christ have perfect lives. Some are ridiculed, some are persecuted more harshly, and some are martyred. We don’t necessarily know what God’s true plan is for our lives, but we do know that we are expected to live as an example of Christ and to follow the directions He gives. For further instruction, see the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20.
Ephesians 4:25-32
Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
We all have a past, and we all have a future. We all started with a sinful nature, apart from God, and we all sinned. We all made mistakes here and there throughout our lives. We can’t judge people by their pasts, but we should strive to speak well of others and build them up. This is the encouragement that will give them confidence to make the positive changes that please God.
Let God be the judge, and for us, let us share in the love of Christ for one another. Let each of us use our spiritual gifts for good, to help others and build them up, and let us as Christians see each person as God’s creation.
Don't Let the devil Defeat You - learn to combat the tactics of the devil through Christ to be better equipped in spiritual battle.
Conclusion
Although we might not always have physical freedom in our lives, God promises true peace, joy, and freedom for our souls. Regardless of outer circumstances, you can be set free on the inside.
The devil works tirelessly to steal your joy. He works hard to impart fear and worry into your life. By doing this, your faith in God is weakened. It’s not possible to fully trust God and live in fear. It’s one or the other.
Having faith in God is the way to freedom, and this starts by getting the sin out of your life. Make a commitment to God today to fully surrender to Him. Decide that the devil has no place in your life and when the troubling thoughts to do wrong come about, rebuke the devil and those thoughts and seek refuge in Christ.
Freedom in Christ is available to all who are willing to say no to living in sin. Make the effort and God will give you the strength to press on. It might not be easy to constantly rebuke the devil and make the right choices, but living with the constant condemnation from the devil isn’t easy either.
Take a stand and see what God has planned for your life!
If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus, you can follow this link (Prayer for Salvation) to find out how. Also, if you need prayer for your life or your family, feel free to fill out a private prayer request in the provided prayer box in this article. My wife and I would love to pray for you.
Take care!