What if I told you that Satan began his hellish attacks on you when you were a child? He probably did not wait until you were a teenager or an adult. He has zero rules of warfare except to 1) kill you, 2) steal from you, and 3) destroy you according to Jesus in John 10:10. He begins early in your life, primarily by using people connected to you. Their attitudes, actions, and verbal assertions give us messages about who we are and how life works. Guess where they got the programming they unwittingly used to program you? The people in their lives when they were growing up!
Here is an example from my own life. When I was a young boy, my dad began to ask me to help him with projects around the house. He had God-given brilliance in working with his hands. However, it did not cross his mind to teach me. He would simply say things like, “Saw this.” “Hammer these nails” “Measure this board.” Because I did not know how to do most of these tasks, I would make mistakes. With frustration, he would often grab the tool from my hand and do it for me. My dad loved me and I do not think he realized what he was doing because when I talked to him about this as an adult, he replied, “That’s no way to treat a child.” Nonetheless, the enemy used these events to form some of my core beliefs that carried far into adulthood.
One of the messages Satan put in my mind from that was this. I am inadequate and need to work hard to get it right. Therefore, I should not make mistakes. Through the years, Satan weaponized this message over and over to defeat me, discourage me, and destroy me in some ways. Eventually, the Holy Spirit showed me that I am complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10), can do everything my Father created me for in Christ (Ephesians 2:10), am more than a conqueror in Christ (Romans 8:37), and have all of Jesus in me to love me and live through me (Galatians 2:20)
What about you? What messages has Satan put in your mind about you and how life works as a child, teen, or even as an adult that are defeating you? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what these are and then use Scripture to exchange these lies with the truth. I also encourage you to attend our virtual Spiritual Warfare by Grace Conference where we go much deeper into this.
In Christ Alone,
Mark Maulding
President and Founder
