I may be one of the few people in the world who grew up watching horror films from birth. From vampires to werewolves to killer dolls, there wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle, lol. Before you stop reading this to look up the number for child protective services, hear me out! Something good did come out of it. One thing I found to be most interesting about these movies is that the monsters never died! It didn’t matter if the protagonist killed the enemy by fire, bullet, knife, sword or dynamite, the bad guy always reemerged bigger, badder and more terrifying than before.  Then as I was having my devotions one morning, it clicked. The problem is that they kept using the wrong weapons against their enemy. In every horror film, the “monster” is always driven by an evil force, so using the right weapon was critical to breaking the curse that brought the monster to life in the first place. In every case, the main character attempted to use the enemy’s own weapons against them, but that never worked. The monster would only be defeated when it was exposed to something that counteracted its very nature. The same thing happens when we deal with our issues, past and present.

Here’s what we do at times:

• We try to ignore the monster (guilt, fear, isolation, etc.) by covering it up and putting up a front for people. Problem is that it doesn’t fool God or most people for that matter.
• We create and worship false “gods” by putting everything else that matters to us before our relationship with God.
• We overcompensate in another area so that we will feel better.
• We allow our issues to get the best of us and we sink into bitterness, frustration and depression. We lose hope.

Generally speaking, we try to “kill” the monster with worldly solutions like material possessions, wrong relationships, too much food, lies and whatever else we can think of. But it never really goes away. You know the problem lurks right where you left it: behind the façade of all the expensive clothing, makeup or even behind the curtains of that beautiful home you may live in.

The Right Ammunition

For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds… 2 Corinthians 10:4

To put it simply, our only source of victory lies within the things of God. Things like prayer, praise, love, forgiveness, compassion, contentment, generosity, and faith. Regardless of which you choose for your situation, it should always be godly in nature. The problems that cause us to falter begin with our spirit and our mindset. So it’s kind of funny that we think man-made things will cure something that is spiritual. It cannot be cured with any material thing…just the Spirit of God through His word. I can say this because I have tried everything else and eventually, they all failed.

Until we get real with ourselves and understand that we are not strong enough to fight the enemy on our own and that Jesus Christ is the only answer, we will never be free. It’s His word that causes the enemy to flee just as we are about to succumb to fear, lust, anger, gluttony, materialism, or jealousy. His word is the only thing that will stand when the enemy tells us that God doesn’t love us enough to forgive us and grant us a fresh start. If we keep fighting this enemy with “weapons” that only compliment his nature, we will not only lose the battle, but the problem will resurrect again and again, one relentless attack after the other.  Just like the monsters in those movies, it will even return stronger than ever, making it harder to fight than before.

This week I had a lot of time to do some soul searching and I decided that it’s time to be real with myself. There’s no one to blame anymore and there is no more time for excuses. One of the things I like about blogging is my ability to be transparent. To be honest, I’ve been making a ton of excuses lately. Those excuses are the reason I haven’t been blogging lately. It’s not that God hasn’t been talking to me. I had just made myself too busy and too frustrated to listen. In my dark place, it was too hard to find encouraging words to help someone else. Through all the busy work that made it seem like I had it all together, I have been empty and lifeless on the inside. I knew where the cure could be found but I was just “too busy” to go after it. But God has been faithful and never stopped pursuing me. Hence this blog post. I encourage you to look in the mirror and be honest. Ask God to help you fight the enemy with the weapons He gave you. Read and learn the word of God for yourself. Speak it back to the enemy at his onset (1 Peter 5:9 AMP). Spend time, even if it’s just 15 minutes a day, alone with God so that He can direct you out of the darkness you are in. Find someone you can trust and have them pray for or with you. Never give up and trust that God always loves you no matter how far you have fallen. His hand is capable of reaching even that low to pick you up out of the pit of despair and raise you up to your destiny. Let God be your Director and your story will surely have a happy ending.