Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Send us a text Have you ever felt paralyzed by fear, convinced that your struggles were too overwhelming to overcome? You're not alone. The enemy thrives on deception, making mountains out of molehills and causing believers to doubt both their God-given authority and His unchanging truth. Drawing from personal experience with debilitating anxiety and panic attacks, I share how God revealed that what I was battling weren't insurmountable obstacles but carefully crafted illusions. "Everything ...
Facing trauma is a challenging journey, but I share my story with the hope that it might inspire you to gather the strength to take a step toward progress. Remember, with the presence of Christ, there are no limits to what you can conquer.
Speaker 1: Hey everyone, welcome
back to another episode of the
Well, where I'm your host, drew
Gabrielle, and I'm so happy that
you've chosen to click on the
podcast today.
We're going to dive straight
deep into this message, because
there's going to be a lot to
this one.
I want to talk about the enemy,
not to give him a platform, but
more so to expose him for the
master manipulator that he is.
The enemy thrives on deception.
He thrives on making things
seem bigger than they actually
are.
He thrives on making you doubt
not only your authority but also
God's truth, and the reality is
that a lot of believers, myself
included, have fallen for
illusions of the enemy.
We fear what we don't
understand, but today God is
saying to us that he wants this
cycle to end in our lives.
It's time for us to step into
the authority that is rightfully
ours, and so if you've been
feeling overwhelmed or fearful,
if you've been feeling like the
battle is just too much, then
this episode is for you, because
you're stronger than you think
and the enemy is not as powerful
as he wants you to believe.
I want to start this episode by
bringing light to the way that
God speaks, because if we're
going to understand our
authority, then we need to
understand the ways in which God
speaks to us, so that we can
discern truth from lies, because
, see, god often speaks to us in
a gentle, quiet and intimate
way.
He speaks to us in that still
small voice.
1 Kings 19, verse 12 through 13.
In this passage of scripture we
find the prophet Elijah, and
Elijah is feeling very
overwhelmed, he's feeling afraid
, he's feeling like he's ready
to give up, and he had just fled
to the wilderness after Queen
Jezebel had threatened to kill
him.
And so he's praying for God to
take his life.
But instead God provides for
him and leads him to the same
mountain where God met Moses.
And once Elijah's there, he
hides in this cave and God
speaks to him and he
demonstrates something so
powerful.
The scripture reads then a
great and powerful wind tore the
mountains apart and shattered
the rocks before the Lord, but
the Lord was not in the wind.
After the wind, there was an
earthquake, but the Lord was not
in the earthquake.
After the earthquake came a
fire, but the Lord was not in
the fire.
And after the fire came a
gentle whisper, and when Elijah
heard it, he pulled his cloak
over his head and went out and
stood at the mouth of the cave.
So we see here, in this passage
of scripture, that God wasn't
in the earthquake, he wasn't in
the fire, but he was in the
whisper.
And I say all this to say that
sometimes we expect God to be
loud or to be dramatic or to
shake the heavens, but he often
speaks to us in the quiet.
But the problem that we run
into is that we're too busy
listening to the storm.
I want to know what voices have
you been listening to?
Are these voices feeding your
faith or are they feeding your
fear?
Are you listening to God or are
you listening to your
circumstances?
Because, see, the enemy's voice
is loud.
This is why a lot of people
fear him, because he barks.
The Bible tells us that he has
come to kill, steal and to
destroy, and so I really want
you to think about this, because
what I have found in my journey
specifically pertaining to
mental health is that the enemy
loves to magnify problems.
He loves to make them seem
bigger than they actually are.
He likes to get in our heads
and twist our emotions and use
our personal experiences to make
us feel hopeless.
And the truth to all of this is
that there is a root that must
be cut off, a root that must be
dealt with, and God showed me
that that root is a lack of love
and a lack of understanding.
First, john 4.18 says perfect
love casts out fear.
I believe another version says
that perfect love will drive out
fear, fear.
I believe another version says
that perfect love will drive out
fear.
And so what we have to
understand is that if fear is
ruling in our lives, then there
is a disconnect somewhere in our
understanding of God's love,
and the enemy knows this, which
is why he attacks our
understanding of who God is and
who we are in him.
And when we don't recognize our
authority in Christ, we become
easy targets because we end up
giving fear too much room.
But I want to ask you if God
has already declared victory,
why are we still living like
we've lost?
Think about this, because when
you truly understand who you are
, you walk differently, you talk
differently, you move with
authority.
And not only that, but when you
start to understand your enemy,
then you'll finally recognize
the authority that you have over
him.
It's easy to become a slave to
fear when we allow ourselves to
be all consumed by it, when we
give ear to the lies of the
enemy without ever checking it
at the door of our hearts and
minds.
I found in my journey with God
that there were a lot of things
that I had to unlearn, because I
had a false perception of who
God is.
My perception of him needed to
be corrected.
I felt like God had forgotten
about me, and I share this with
you because you may be feeling
like that too, feeling hopeless,
abandoned and distant from him.
But what I discovered was that
he didn't forsake me.
I had just forsaken my need for
his word.
I got so caught up in wanting
to do things independently,
sometimes without even realizing
it, or sometimes I would run to
people before ever going to the
presence of God.
First I would go to people for
advice.
First I would seek out wisdom
from sermons and messages and
you know TikTok and this and
that without ever going and
asking God for myself.
Hebrews 4 and 12 tells us that
the word of God is alive and
it's active.
You cannot fight a spiritual
battle without your weapon, and
yet so many of us try to do this
.
We go into the battle with no
armor, we go into it with no
sword, and then we wonder why we
end up feeling so defeated.
And the danger in this is that
when you're not rooted in God's
word, you become vulnerable to
Satan's lies.
Second Corinthians, 10 and 4.
It says, for the weapons of our
warfare are not carnal, but
mighty, through God, to the
pulling down of strongholds.
Another version says that the
weapons we fight with are not
the weapons of the world.
On the contrary, they have
divine power to demolish
strongholds.
Strongholds, these are mental
or emotional prisons that are
built by the enemy to keep
individuals trapped in fear,
deception or sin, but through
Christ, these strongholds can be
broken down and replaced with
the truth of God's word.
I have gone through seasons in
my life of extreme fear, moments
where anxiety and panic felt
almost unbearable, and it was
during those times where God
taught me some really important
lessons, not just about how to
walk in confidence, but, more
importantly, about placing my
full hope and trust in his
sovereignty and in his care.
These were the moments where I
learned to lean into God, even
when it felt like everything
around me was spiraling.
There was actually a season not
too long ago, early this year,
where I was grappling with
intense panic attacks.
I mean, I was having anxiety
and panic every single day, it
felt, and I could barely go out
in public and I would cry out to
God in desperation, desperate
for his help.
It felt like my mind was so
overwhelmed with fear that it
was nearly impossible to think
clearly or even logically.
It felt like the world was
closing in, that every single
day was the same day, over and
over and over again, and all I
could do was cling to the hope
that God would intervene.
And in the midst of all of this,
in the midst of my cry out to
God, I heard his still small
voice and he spoke to me.
And he said illusions, drew.
Everything is not what it seems
.
And when he spoke this to me,
it was like a veil lifted from
my eyes, and I realized
something really important that
the root of the anxiety and the
panic wasn't due to something
wrong in my circumstances or
situations that I was facing,
but the real issue was that I
had become enslaved to a thought
in my mind.
I allowed fear to dictate my
reality, which then created this
illusion of danger when there
wasn't any danger.
That's how loud fear can get if
we're not addressing it.
It literally clouded my ability
to think clearly or even
recognize the truth, and so what
I needed in that moment wasn't
just deliverance from the panic,
but I needed a deeper
understanding that not
everything I felt or thought was
true.
See, god showed me that, yes,
drew, your thoughts have power,
but they are not always accurate
.
And by choosing to surrender
those thoughts to God and
trusting his truth, I was able
then to dismantle all of these
illusions that had been keeping
me bound.
When we align our thoughts with
his word, we can watch the
illusions fade and we're able to
cling to that peace that
surpasses our understanding,
because in those moments of fear
and panic, god's presence is
the only truth that remains.
And so, for you listening, I
want to expose some of the most
common illusions that the enemy
uses against believers.
Illusion number one this
situation is bigger than me, see
.
The enemy wants you to feel
overwhelmed, but the truth is,
god has given you authority over
all things, according to Luke
10 and 19,.
Nothing is too big for God, and
the problem is never the size
of the battle, it's whether or
not you recognize who fights for
you.
Illusion number two I'm all
alone in this.
The enemy isolates people so
that they feel defenseless, but
the truth is that God never
leaves nor forsakes his children
, according to Deuteronomy 31
and 6.
And so if you're struggling
right now, I want you to declare
and remind yourself I am not
alone.
Illusion number three things
will never change.
This was a big one for me.
The enemy wants you to believe
that your situation is permanent
, but God is a redeemer and a
restorer.
According to Joel 2.25,
whatever the enemy tries to
destroy, god has the power to
restore.
These are all illusions that
blind people and they keep
people from stepping into the
truth, and so, as we come to the
end of this episode, I want to
briefly discuss how we can equip
ourselves and overcome the
enemy's illusions by giving you
what God has taught me.
Number one you got to know the
word.
It's not optional.
The word of God is your
greatest weapon, and so if
you're not in the word daily,
you are defenseless in battle.
When Jesus was in the
wilderness and he was being
tempted by Satan, jesus used the
word to combat whatever chaos
Satan was trying to throw at him
.
He said it is written.
And so you got to know what is
written and you got to be able
to speak that.
Number two you got to spend
time with Jesus, not just on
Sundays, but you've got to have
daily intimacy with him in order
to gain clarity from him.
And number three, you have to
stay spiritually fed, because
when you stop feeding your
spirit, you open the door for
fear to creep in.
Something else I realized is
that sometimes God allows us to
reach a place of desperation
because it's the only way we'll
finally seek him.
But I want to tell you that it
doesn't have to be that way.
You don't have to wait until
you hit rock bottom to get
serious about your authority in
Christ.
And it also took me a while to
understand the importance of
community.
There are moments in spiritual
warfare when the enemy wants you
to feel isolated.
He wants you to feel like
you're fighting alone.
He wants you to feel like no
one can understand the depth of
what you're going through.
And that's when we start to
believe the lie that we're weak
if we ask for help or ashamed if
we show our vulnerabilities.
But the truth is that community
is one of the greatest gifts
that we have in battle.
Ecclesiastes 4, verse 9 through
12, it says two people are
better than one, for if they
fall.
For if they fall, one will lift
up his companion, but woe to
him who is alone when he falls,
for he has no one to help him.
In previous seasons of my life,
when I've gone through spiritual
warfare, god has always, always
, always, always sent someone at
just the right time, whether
it's a friend, a mentor or even
someone I didn't even expect.
And I have learned to
appreciate that God's provision
often comes through people and,
you know, sometimes God is
sending these people because he
knows that we can't fight alone.
But there's a key here, and
that key is vulnerability,
because sometimes we don't want
to share the depths of our fears
or the rawness of our struggles
, because we think that we're
supposed to have it all together
.
But the Bible makes it clear we
are not meant to fight alone,
and when we open up to others,
it creates a space for them to
step in and support us, and it
allows God to use them to
strengthen and encourage us when
we feel weak.
There have been countless of
times where I had to have people
pray with me.
I had to have people speak
truth over me.
I had to have people near me
that would be able to help me
regain my focus.
But the most important thing I
had to do was be honest with
them.
I had to admit to them that I
was struggling, which wasn't
always easy.
But when we open up, we allow
the enemy's illusion of
isolation to break in our lives.
And so I want you to remember
that.
I want you to remember that two
people are better than one, and
when you feel the weight of
spiritual warfare or life
circumstances, whatever it may
be, it's okay to lean on your
community.
It's okay to say, hey, brother,
I'm struggling, sis, I'm
struggling, I need help.
I can't do it alone, because in
doing that, you make room for
God to move through others and
the weight of the burden is
lifted from you.
I'll never forget.
There was a season I don't know
if I've talked about this or not
, but there was a season in my
life, after going through grief
and loss, and I was just like
feeling the weight of the world,
and I sent a voice memo to a
sister in Christ and she sent me
one back, and one of the things
she said to me was you're not
about to give up.
I'm not about to let you give
up.
I didn't allow myself to give
up.
You're not about to let
yourself give up either.
I will never forget.
That is the power of community,
so lean on it.
God has not forsaken you.
You are not powerless.
The enemy is not stronger than
you.
You are stronger than you think
, not because of you, but
because of who's inside of you.
And so today I challenge you to
take your authority back.
I challenge you to reject the
enemy's illusions and to walk
boldly in the power of Christ In
Jesus' name.
Thank you so much for clicking
the podcast today and joining me
.
If this episode blessed, you,
share it with someone else who
needs to hear it and, as always,
stay strong, stay rooted and
stay in the word.
Bye, guys.