Hopelessness
Are you at a crossroad in life, but feel stuck in a web of conflicting choices? Are you losing hope and feeling desperate? Is your judgement muddled? Overwhelmed with sorrow? Or feeling trapped with no way out? Is your life full of frustration, anger, rejection, fear? Do you suffer from an addiction? Is your life best described as “hell on earth”?
The enemy of your soul, Satan, is attacking you. Whether you realize it or not—you are in a spiritual war. Therefore, today’s blog’s focus is to help you understand why you are in confusion and the remedy.
You might feel too tired and weak to pray right now. So let’s start with a video prayer. Please click on this link and listen to My Prayer for You.
Why is My Life So Hard?
Satan is on the offensive. During your crisis, he will tempt you with whatever it takes for you to become self-destructive. The guy or gal down the street might be tempted with sex, pornography, and adultery; however, your weaknesses might be unforgiveness, anger or alcohol.
“Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he is tried, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil; neither does He tempt anyone. But each man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. Then, when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin; and when sin is finished, it brings forth death.” James 1:12-15 (MEV)
Ephesians 6 tells us of the spiritual war we are in….This chapter should be studied thoroughly by every person who wants to win the spiritual wars of life! Here is a short snippet of this chapter:
“Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemesof the devil. For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:10-13 (MEV)
When you feel emotionally destroyed and at the very end of your sanity, Satan will strike with his wicked forked tongue. He will lie to you. He wants to fill your heart and mind with unbelief towards God. Because he knows—God answers the prayers of people who believe!
“Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Matthew 21:21-22 (KJV)
In addition, at your weakest point Satan might whisper,
“What’s the point? Your life is not going to get any better. You’d be better off dead. At least you wouldn’t hurt anymore…”
No, those negative voices in your head are not a figment of your imagination. It is not just you thinking negative thoughts. Any voice suggesting you do anything to hurt yourself or anyone else physically or emotionally is demonic. If you have heard this type of negative voice in your head recently—it is the enemy of your soul speaking—NO—YOU WOULD NOT BE BETTER OFF DEAD!
God has a plan for your life.
Satan is LIAR.
Thief and Liar
Satan is a vile deceiving spirit who presents his ideas to the people of the world. He wants to steal everything good in your life.
In John 10:10-11 (ESV), Jesus told us that Satan is a THIEF:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd.”
When speaking to a group of evil, self-righteous, religious leaders, Jesus declared:
You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44 (MEV)
Notice—Jesus states that Satan was a murderer from the beginning––so no small wonder he wants to KILL all of us! That is his M.O. Kill and destroy—kill and destroy and repeat. The ammunition that annihilates him is the power of the blood of Jesus that covers our minds, hearts, and souls when we repent.
Why do I need to repent?
Even if you have received Christ, what we do afterward is what makes a life-altering difference. We have to continually come to the feet of Jesus and repent, as we are imperfect people. We are all sinners. The more time we spend daily in God’s Word and prayer, the more we change.
If you have prayed the prayer of salvation, but your life is still downright miserable—there are several reasons for this outcome.
1. Slam the Door to the Devil and Refuse Him Entrance!
Have you opened a door in your heart, mind, or home to a demonic influence that has allowed Satan an entrance to afflict you or your family?
Be on guard! Evil spirits can be lurking within popular entertainment such as music, video games, and movies containing violence, horror, witchcraft, sexual sin and profanity.
“…I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
I will set no wicked thing
before my eyes.”
Psalms 101:2-3
When we purposely expose our minds to unholy thoughts and embrace them—we defile ourselves. This is not an all-out attack from the devil; this is willful ignorance. This is like opening the door to the devil and saying, “Come on in…” Indulging in unholy entertainment is a self-inflicted wound caused by our lust and carelessness. However, actions have consequences. God is HOLY and his presence CANNOT and WILL NOT stay with you if you deliberately coddle ungodliness.
Ephesians 4:17-24 (MEV), reminds us to put off our old way of life:
“….from now on you walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their minds, having their understanding darkened, excluded from the life of God through the ignorance that is within them, due to the hardness of their hearts. Being calloused they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
But you did not learn about Christ in this manner, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off the former way of life in the old nature, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that you put on the new nature, which was created according to God in righteousness and true holiness.
Most importantly, if you or a family member is suffering mental torment, examine your home. There may be items in your home that are attracting an evil presence. Perhaps you already know what the items are—if so throw them in the garbage and get the items out of your home right now!
If you are unaware of anything in your home that would attract evil spirits, pray and ask God to reveal to you if there are any items that you should remove. Some things are obviously evil and do not require prayer to know they should be removed such as anything pertaining to magic arts such as books, tarot cards, Ouija boards, etc. However, some items are less obvious such as toys, artwork, and woodcarvings from foreign countries. This is why I instruct you to pray and ask God what to remove—as he will reveal this information to you if you are truly willing to cleanse your home.
Tormenting Nightmares – My Story
When I was about thirteen-years-old, I began suffering horrible, gripping nightmares for several weeks. The tormenting dreams visited me nightly. At the time, my father was out of the country on a missionary trip. At my wits end, I confided in my mother. She prayed. I prayed. The nightmares continued.
Later, one particular night, when I could not stand the torment any more, I jumped out of bed, ran down the hall and burst into my mother’s bedroom. Next, I got in bed with her even though my teenaged mind told me that I was much too old to do so. I woke her up; she held me in her arms and prayed for me aloud in the dark. It felt as if 100 miniture demons were attacking my mind—-as if my mind was being stung non-stop by a swarm of hornets. I could see them there in the dark with my eyes open. I do not know if I was seeing an evil vision or if I could see them in the natural—it did not matter to me—I just wanted it to STOP! But no matter how much or how loudly my mother prayed, instead of improving—-my condition only got worse.
Suddenly my mother stopped praying, sat up, turned on the bedroom light and quizzed emphatically, “Is there anything in this house that you think could be causing this problem?” Startled at the question, I racked my brain—then it hit me, “Yes! Yes!” I pointed at the large African woodcarving that was sitting on top of my dad’s dresser—it was a replica of a male native’s head that my missionary parents had brought home while on one of their trips.
The memories flashed before my eyes, for about two years, every time I walked past that statue it gave me the creeps. It was as if its eyes were watching me. I tried the common sense approach. Confronting my fear, I had examined it closely multiple times on different occasions rationalizing that this was “only a block of carved wood.” Nevertheless, every time I entered my parents’ bedroom I could feel something weird in the spirit realm vibrating out of that statue—it was unlike any block of wood I had ever encountered. It was different. It was strangely weird. I never told anyone—I supposed they would think I was a scaredy-cat or worse—crazy! Mom not only disposed of this item—but several other carvings throughout our home.
The next day when I saw her throwing out many other little dainty carved statues located in other rooms in our house—her little treasures, I ran down the hall towards her blurting, “Those were not causing my problem…” Next several more small statues ricocheted across the inside wall of the garbage can she carried.
“I don’t care! I am not taking any chances! I am getting rid of them all!”
I followed her back down the hall trying to match her brisk pace. She paused beside a small bookcase. Suddenly, my eyes danced across a book of German fairytales that belonged to my mother. UGH! I thought. I hate that book!
“Mom we need to get rid of this book. It is evil. I began reading several months ago because I love fairytales. …but the fairytales got really weird! They are evil! The stories are not like regular fairytales—they are really strange…”—then I suddenly realized that some of my nightmares were caused by stories I had read.
“Mom, it is like the stories had an evil power of their own to draw me in like I was under a spell while reading them. The stories implied that it was possible to walk into the book and become part of the stories.”
Raised in a strong Bible believing\teaching\preaching church all my life, while reading this book I began to realize that something was not right with the book—BUT I KEPT READING IT!
Moreover, the book had an addictive, mysterious power that made me want to keep reading even though I knew something did NOT feel right. Why did I have such an URGE to read this weird book? I had never experienced anything like this in my life. I was intrigued. However, the more I read the weirder it got—next I remember the book suddenly felt blatantly evil—or at least it felt completely evil to me. I threw it down, vowed to never read it again, and put it back on the shelf—but I told no one as it was a very freaky experience. Again, who would I want to tell? NOBODY. It was so bizarre.
My mother was completely appalled that she even owned the book, as she did not know what was in it—she immediately threw it out with the statues in the garbage. Therefore, my nightmares were partly self-inflicted by willfully exposing my mind to an evil influence—the foreign fairytale book, and caused because my parents allowed those items in our home. Between the two items—I was besieged with torment. However, the bad dreams immediately stopped the day my mother threw out the statues and the book.
Therefore, we must examine our homes as a harmless looking piece of local art that a tourist might purchase overseas and transport home could carry evil spirits—as we have no idea what unfamiliar works of art might mean to local folks or the artist—no matter where they are from. Most of all, my parents were very spiritual people—and the wooden carving did not bother them—and it was in their bedroom! HOWEVER, just because an item in your home does not bother you—it does not mean it cannot harm your children. Sometimes it must take a revelation from God to know what has brought a plague of torment to enter your home so you can dispose of it. Looking back, I know my mother had a revelation from God that something in our house was the problem as she was a woman of prayer, love, and Godly wisdom.
2. Not Spending Enough Time in God’s Presence.
Another reason a person can become afflicted with misery is that even though you may have accepted and believed God’s word as truth and prayed the prayer of salvation—you have not spent enough time with Him—so you don’t know him. Mental knowledge of God is in your head, but not your heart. Therefore, you believe in Him, but you have not spent enough time with him to love him. Jesus reminds us, in Matthew 11:28 (MEV)
“Come to Me,
all you who labor and are heavily burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me.
For I am meek and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.”
God loves you dearly. Therefore, he WILL answer prayers of desperation; however—He wants you whole. He does not want you in living in torment or any kind of misery. He wants you to submit your entire life, wants, hopes and dreams to him. Are you willing to pray, “Not my will Lord, but yours? I will do whatever you ask.”
Many times after a person accepts Christ their lives improve, but then they become negligent….failing to put their relationship with God first. It takes a divine revelation—to understand who God is—and it takes a relationship—communion with a holy God to know him. This is only achieved when we die to our will, our way of thinking, and choose to spend time in God’s presence.
Church attendance is of utmost importance as God wants to place a trustworthy shepherd, a pastor, in our lives so we can hear the Word of God preached and to watch over our souls. Choose a church where you feel the presence of God. Join a Bible believing church where the pastor’s sermons grab your interest, stir your soul, and challenge you to live righteously. Keep trying new churches until you find the right one. (It is not God’s will for you to sit home and watch some preacher on TV instead of attending church.) In addition to the above, if you desire to know God with a supernatural depth so you can live a victorious, holy life, you must strengthen your relationship with Him by prayerfully studying the Holy Bible at home in your quiet time.
“Save Me From My Misery – Part II” will be my next blog post.
© Margaret R. Wilder, 2018
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