God is with you

When you dedicated your life to Christ, spiritual warfare starts and the attacks are nonstop. These attacks are designed to make us feel powerless and out of control. Defeat and failure become our outlook on life. Satan catches you when you are unaware, when you are vulnerable, when you have doubt.

I want you to have unshakable faith—and I want you to understand that, even through you may experience failures in your lives, you are not a casualty of war. That’s because the battle is not yours—it’s the Lord’s.

I don’t want you to begin to think that God is not with you. He has not left you powerless and unprotected. God has left you with power and has given you his protection. He has given you the armor you need to protect you from the forces of evil and hatred.

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,  and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. (Ephesians 6:14–18)

—Pastor Doris Hooks