Sometimes we may be feeling down about things, and occasionally dwell on our problems. Any negative thinking brings us down more and makes us feel hopeless and fearful.

But we need to realise the cause of these negative thoughts and feelings of hopelessness and sadness.

When we spend most of our time thinking and worrying about problems, it becomes difficult for us to find peace.

The enemy attacks our minds and our thoughts. He doesn't wants us to have peace. He knows that God has plans for us, to give us a hope and a future (Jerimiah 29:11).

He knows that we are loved, cherished and precious in God's eyes. The enemy knows all this is true but he has no future, so doesn't want us to believe it and so tries to take it away from us.

He starts by lying to us and putting negative thoughts in our head. If we are ever stressed, let down or rejected, the enemy lies to us and tries to tell us we are not good enough, useless, ugly, or that we can't do anything and have no future. This is not true, but the enemy wants us to believe it is. If we start to dwell on these lies being put into our head, our spirits become crushed and we lose the strength to carry on living the life God has planned for us.

The enemy wants us to lose heart but we can't allow him to get to us. We don't need to fear the enemy because we know that God has already won the victory. But we need to wake up and recognise the enemy's lies and schemes.

Jesus says in John 8:44 that there is no truth in the enemy. 'When he lies, he speaks his native language. He is a liar and the father of lies.' So we must remember that if we have any feelings of self-loath or think negatively about ourselves, these thoughts did not come from ourselves, they are lies which the enemy tried to sneak into our minds. We must re-program our minds to not believe them or let them affect our dreams, our future and most importantly, our faith.

Jesus says in John 10;10 says 'The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.'

God brings us a fulfilling life with purpose and a bright future, but at the same time, that life is opposed. The enemy, the thief comes to steal our blessings, kill our dreams and destroy our futures.

This is the battle we face. God is offering us life, but the enemy is trying to stop us from attaining it. So we have to be strong and fight for it. We cannot allow the enemy to have a foothold, We will not back down but will claim what is rightfully ours!

With the help of God we will not be threatened or shaken because 'God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power...' (2 Timothy 1:7)

God has also provided us with his full armour to defend ourselves and equip us with what we need for every obstacle we may face.

When we put on the full armour of God, we can take our stand against the devils schemes, stand firm and stand our ground against everything that comes our way. (Ephesians 6:10-18)

The armour of God has everything we need to equip us to stand strong and fight back against the enemy's attacks.

God has provided it, but it is our choice to put it on. Without it, we are left vulnerable to the enemy's attacks and it becomes harder for us to get out, but with God's armour, we have the strength and courage to take a stand and defend ourselves against the enemy's lies and everything he tries to throw at us.

God equips us with truth, and the truth is that we have worth, and we are precious and honoured in God's sight (Isiah 43:4) and above all, we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. (Phil 4:13)

We must acknowledge and believe these truths so we can be ready with God's full armour to defend ourselves and claim everything God has in store for us.

Esther ♥