“For the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies.”   ~Lamentations 3:31-32

What do we do when everything seems to be going wrong, when life is nothing but one big problem after another? Do you ever feel like God has done just that, cast you off . . . turned away and forgotten you? Well re-read the above verse again then. The Lord will not cast off forever. He’s got it, whatever it is, He is in control!

When it seems like your prayers are not being answered, don’t stop praying. Keep praying and know that He is on the job. One of three things is happening, either there is a lesson that needs to be learned, it isn’t the right time, or God has something better in store for you.

“The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.”   ~Psalm 9:9

I know how extremely hard this is to do when you find yourself stuck in a dark place— feeling like nothing will ever work out for you? I call it “the fear funk”.

The most important thing in these situations is to understand what’s really going on when this happens. We must first accept that there is an invisible realm of reality that exists all around us, and that there is an evil advisory trying to get control of us.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”   ~1 Peter 5:8

If we refuse to accept that this is true we might as well throw in the towel right now. By denying the existence of Satan, we deny the truth of God. The Bible tells us of Satan’s exile to earth and how he is now seeking anyone he can devour. Jesus Himself spoke the following words.

“And He said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven’.”   ~Luke 10:18

Oh yes, he is real, he is very real, just ask Job. His battle with Satan was way worse than most of us will ever experience, and yet he was in God’s keeping the whole time. In his darkest hours of loss and grief Job said this about God, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him…” These words frustrate the devil. They affirm our faith in God and our willingness to hold tightly to Him no matter what!

The big problem of denying the reality of the devil is we are then denying the infallibility of the word of God. If we can’t trust the absolute factual truth of the Bible we will have no way to learn how to fight this invisible, spiritual battle of the mind.

Without the word of God, we are powerless, we are no match for the supernatural power of this evil force. But the good news is this, God is a gazillion times more powerful than Satan. He can and will go to battle for us. All we have to do is call to Him, have some faith and wait.

We must learn to continually turn all of our problems over to God, that’s where the mighty power of prayer comes into play. This is our greatest weapon. Engaging God through prayer is our greatest source of power and  peace. God will not reach down and just take our problems away, that would negate our free will. We must give them up to Him, then and only then can He go to battle for us.

I’m just too tired to keep fighting . . .

This is exactly why we need to learn how to fight these no-win battles, we need to retrain our brains to turn to God to get empowered. Prayer is that weapon. Prayer, no matter how difficult it might be, no matter how beat up we might feel, is our only hope in these weakened times.

The enemy wants us weak. He wants us sleep deprived and angry. Nothing makes him happier than when we’re mad at God. He doesn’t care why we’re angry, just as long as we’re angry! These are the times that we become willing to listen to his argument about how unfair God is, and that's exactly how he gets us stuck!

Once we believe that God isn't on our side—that all the bad things in our life are God’s fault—we break our communication ties with our only source of power and truth. We are now officially stuck!

Prayer is our only weapon when this happens because it repairs this broken communication, it reconnects us to God. When we’re mad at God, we stop talking to Him. If we aren't talking to Him, He can’t tell us His truths, and therein lies the problem. His truth is what sets us free . . . literally. His truth about how much He loves us and what He wants for every single one of us is the reality that will shatter Satan’s lies.

“And you shall know the truth , and the truth shall make you free.”   ~John 8:32

Paul, the apostle, wrote a great portion of the Bible. In the beginning of the book of Ephesians, he tells us exactly what God thinks of us and wants for us. My Bible teacher told me to read these verses every time Satan starts filling my head with lies about God. This was truly some of the best advice I’ve ever received.

We need to understand that our salvation has been bought and paid for by the blood of God. He is there, whether we’re mad at Him, scared, hurting, or overwhelmed with grief—even when we’re so beaten up we can’t do anything but cry—He is still there to rescue us. All we have to do is ask, utter just one word—Jesus! That’s it! The very moment we call to Him, He’s then free to help us. Only when we use our free will to reach out to Him can He then help us.

I’ve learned this lesson time and time again. You’d think I’d stop getting stuck by now, but I still fall for the devil’s fear laced tricks. All we can do is continue to lean on God, lean on every single word of the Bible, and hold tight to all His promises!

“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”   ~Isaiah 41:10

Q: Are you willing to hold on to God no matter what?

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