Series 7 of 7: Overcoming the Spirit of Worry, Ep 25
Welcome Back! I am your host, Dawn Simmons, and in this episode of Conquering Our Unseen Enemies we are finishing our 7-part series this week as we close out 2022. We started the series discussing the Spirit of Bitterness, we've also talked about the Spirit of Strife, the Spirit of Impatience and the Spirit of Accusation, the Spirit of Insecurity and last week was the Spirit of Cursing. For our final week we are going to be discussing the Spirit of Worry. This is a demonic spirit who frequently hangs in the background until it can permeate our lives day and night. The series focused on 7 demons common in our lives and we addressed them openly and focused on understanding them and evicting them as we end 2022. The plan was to enable us to start 2023 with a new heart for the Lord, and the plan got even better as the Lord shared what He wanted for our focus. This week we will discuss the last demon in the series, worry. Next week we will have a wonderful new beginning as we enter into 2023.
To remind you how this series began, as I sat down to hear from the Lord on specifically what content He wanted included, it became clear He wanted me to address the marriage between Him and His church. This is what He asked me to share with you, these are His words for you, not mine.
"There are mainstay areas that need to be cleared out so people can move on and develop their time and relationship with Me in a new way and rid themselves of their heavy burdens and areas that have controlled them or limited them. Break chains and release them for more. My love is waiting to heal deep wounds. Some will think it cannot be done, but they are closing their heart and mind and believing the same lies the devil told Eve and created the first divide. I came to create a bridge over all divides until the divide can be resolved once and for all. You are to show people there is a bridge, they are to take a step onto it and I will meet them there. That's all I ask. Some will walk farther than others, it doesn't matter, I'm on the bridge waiting for everyone."
When the Lord said at the beginning, there are "mainstay areas" I wanted to make sure I understood what He meant. The definition of Mainstay is: a person or thing on which something else is based or depends. (idols, incorrect understanding of Him, demonic influences) He said there are mainstay areas that need to be cleared so we can develop our time and relationship with Him. In doing that we will rid ourselves of burdens and things that have controlled or limited us. He specifically said we need to break chains. Friends, He wants us to get rid of demonic influences in our lives that are holding us back from our John 10:10 relationship with Him. The fullness He can provide. Whatever wounds we have, He can heal them, He is willing, He is able if we come to Him. The enemy created a divide with sin, but Jesus came to redeem us and as a result provide us a bridge over that divide, so it no longer exists for us. The only thing he asks is that we take a step onto that bridge. That's it. He knows some of us will take one step, some will take ten, some will run up on it to meet him. He just asks us to take a step to meet him. So, let's work some more on getting things out of our way so we can get ourselves to that bridge.
The Spirit of Worry is a strongman and a quiet spirit. It wants to work in the background to eat away at us slowly before we realize it has a foothold. Not every circumstance of worry is a demonic attack or is indicative of a demonic influence. Again, we don't have a demon around every corner but there are some instances where the demon of worry is hard at work and we can fall prey to the manipulation. So let's talk more about the demon of worry, who hangs out with it and how to know when we are just being worrisome (which we still need to change) versus demonization.
The Spirit of Worry will take those deep things in our hearts and use them to mentally, emotionally and physically cripple us to do or not do what is necessary to move through our worry. Often with the Spirit of Worry you will find the Spirit of Fear, the Spirit of Anxiety, Dread and the Spirit of Apprehension. They all work well together to paralyze us and keep us from hearing from the Lord. I want to share with you some indications that you are experiencing demonization or the beginnings of demonization which is the influence of the spirit of worry and its associates.
1. Unable to sleep: This attack at night is intended to inhibit our rest to keep us imbalanced. If they can deprive us of enough sleep, then we are not able to think clearly and it will affect other areas of our lives significantly. Often the use of nightmares will keep us from wanting to sleep.
2. Unable to eat: This attack is meant to position us to begin to have cognitive and physical issues and begin breaking us down physically. We become more vulnerable and unable to fight or even defend ourselves.
3. Unable to make decisions or process thoughts logically: Attacking our decision making and thought process will keep us from remaining in reality and ultimately, we will not maintain our responsibilities and that will affect others around us. Confusion and Paranoia could begin to creep in over time.
4. Unable to control emotions: Worry and its associates can position us to feel that everything is coming against us and we cannot stand. When we have no composure, we are weak and cannot defend ourselves or identify
5. Isolation from Others: Pulling back and no longer having social support is a huge red flag! You become more vulnerable when you are on your own and you will begin to believe the lies the enemy tells you because you will begin to lose perspective.
Many times when we are struggling with worry over a situation, loss of a job, a struggling marriage, health of a family member, trying to find a place to live, those are all relatable. We all understand how stressful those situations can become. We ask for prayer, we talk to our friends or our pastor, those are life events. That's not really what we are talking about here. You could have lost your job and as a result you are so worried about feeding your family you can't sleep not can you eat. That is understandable, we should still turn to the Lord in all circumstances, but we would expect those life situations to be temporary not prolonged. I know marriages may be in turmoil for years and therefore prolonged, but there is generally something behind that situation other than the spirit of worry. What we are talking about here are situations where the spirit of worry is allowed freedom beyond the temporary situations to the prolonged.
As I prepare this episode I have had a situation in my own life that if I did not have the relationship with the Lord that I have, I would have easily been in a situation where I was filled with worry, anxiety and uncertainty.
I've shared before about my eldest son this past year, he was 26 at the time. For those who haven't heard the podcasts where I share some of the story or don't remember, I will give a quick explanation. In the beginning of March 2022, my son went to an in-person work event and unfortunately like so many people, got COVID. While he has always been healthy, so no comorbidities or anything to indicate there might be any issues, he did get a really intense cough that lingered for weeks. Once he finally got to where he felt better, it was April 2nd, he went to get a haircut and physical therapy for his neck because he was feeling intense pain in the back of his neck. In the hours following that therapy appointment, he had a major stroke. The month of April was 3 brain surgeries, 3 weeks in ICU, some intense moments surrounding one of the surgeries specifically where everyone thought he was not going to make it through the surgery. It was a very difficult time, I never missed a day by his side to help him as he navigated being intubated, being restrained against his will, learning to walk again, regaining his memory of what year it is, where he lived and even who he was. There were some really sweet moments of realizations as we shared pictures with him of his life, his dogs, and the music he likes. In many ways he grew up again before my eyes because in the beginning stages he was very childlike. From ICU he went straight to rehab to learn how to dress, shower and all the things he needed to be able to do to take care of himself safely. He progressed well and transitioned to the use of a walker and then was released to continue to recover at home. We knew that the stint that was placed in his brain on one side was working but we also knew the right side of his brain was receiving no blood. There are still a few side effects periodically and a handful of things he won't be able to do again, like ride a roller coaster, which is fine.
So, this past Wednesday, he went in for the surgeon to look and see how his brain has accepted the stint, how the right side was doing, how the 2 front arteries were fairing. I learned from the first day he arrived at the ER, which was April 3rd, that I needed to trust what the Lord said about the outcome but also be prepared for whatever happens until you get to the outcome. The events of a circumstance do not dictate the outcome. As soon as I found out he was in the ER I asked the Lord about it and He told me that he would survive and he would come out of it even better. I never really clued in on the use of the words "he will survive", I actually just took it as the Lord saying he would be okay. It wasn't until 6 hours later that I realized something was really wrong and this was a life-threatening situation for him. At that moment, I knew I had the Lord telling me, he would survive and as we went through all of the events I described, and some of them were very, very intense, difficult moments, I just knew no matter what, he was going to survive and be better than he was. So fast forward to this past Tuesday night, the night before his procedure I was spending time with the Lord. The Lord pointed out that my hear was heavy. He told me to let go of it, the heaviness was not mine to bear. He also told me that my son was His and He adored him. A few minutes later my son called with an updated time to be at the hospital, and we prayed. I felt so much better afterwards. The Lord comforted me, even though I didn't bring it up to Him and I heard from my son pretty immediately and was able to pray over him which was relaxing. I know my son was somewhat uncomfortable and apprehensive with the procedure and not knowing what to expect and the prayer helped him.
I want to share what is going on in my life and know the Lord specifically wanted this episode to be done this week. I did this entire series in the order the Lord gave me and for me, being in a situation where I am having to reflect on a very intense and faith challenging period of my life was not comfortable. I knew worry, anxiety, fear, dread and apprehension were not far off but I had to not allow it to preoccupy my time and still stand on what the Lord gave me months ago as the final word over this entire situation. I am not telling you anything I am not walking myself. Life has moments where we are scared, we don't know or understand what is happening. I want to help you be prepared for anything. I want you to rely on the Lord and seek Him in all circumstances, the good and the bad. Because when the unexpected comes, you will naturally lean into Him and get guidance and understanding. Trusting in Him is the beginning of life.
To tackle worry, I have put together 6 steps to help you rid yourselves of the influence of the Spirit of Worry. You can use these same steps for any of the other Spirits as well, Anxiety, Fear, Dread, Apprehension. Applying these 6 steps to the temporary situations will provide support from the Lord but also prevent it all from becoming prolonged worry situations. When we allow the enemy a place in our lives, we give it the legal right to influence your life in those places.
6 Steps to Rid ourselves of the influence from the Spirit of: Worry, Fear, Anxiety, Dread, Apprehension
1. Acknowledge it: Admitting that you have the issue with worry is important so you can begin the eviction process. Hiding it or not being willing to admit it allows it the right to remain and it will continue to build.
2. Rebuke! Rebuke! Rebuke!: Tell the enemy it has to leave in Jesus' name. You have to be willing to evict all of it. Take control of the situation, you have the authority not them.
3. Repent: Turn to the Lord for your support to live by what the Word says, not what the enemy says. Use scriptures.
a. Psalm 56:3, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you."
b. Proverbs 10:24, "what the wicked dread will overtake them; what the righteous desire will be granted."
c. Isaiah12:2, Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation."
4. Understand: Take some time and begin to identify what and why you allowed yourself to be ruled by worry. How long has it been going on? How did you feed it? Ask the Lord to reveal to you ways He can guide you. This is important so you can discern when it is creeping up again so you can rebuke it again and again.
5. Release it to the Lord: Give it all to Him and do not allow yourself to hold on to any worry.
a. 1 Peter 5:7, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."
b. Matthew 6:27, "Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?"
c. Matthew 6:25-26, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
d. Matthew 6:33, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
6. Replace it: Worry is a failure to Trust God, so we need to replace worry with Trust
a. Isaiah 26:4 "Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself is the Rock eternal."
b. Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."
c. Psalm 56:4, "In God, whose word I praise-in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me."
d. Isaiah 26:3, "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."
e. Romans 15:13, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the holy Spirit.
I hope this episode has helped you in some way. The Lord wants to meet us at the bridge. He can heal and take away all the heaviness weighing us down in our lives, but we have to step towards him. If you know someone who might benefit from this series, please share it with them. These are life changing conversations, and it can change their lives if they are willing.
Ok so as always let's recap the Top Show Points:
· We are continuing our focus on our 7-part series for the next 2 weeks, which is the remainder of 2022. We started the series discussing the Spirit of Bitterness, then the Spirit of Strife, Impatience, Accusation and Insecurity. This week we discussed the spirit of Cursing.
· A few weeks ago I sat down to hear from the Lord on specifically what content He wanted included, it became clear He wanted me to address the marriage between Him and His church. I shared what He wanted me to share with you.
· The Spirit of Worry is a strongman and a quiet spirit. It wants to work in the background to eat away at us slowly before we realize it has a foothold.
· Often with the Spirit of Worry you will find the Spirit of Fear, the Spirit of Anxiety, Dread and the Spirit of Apprehension. They all work well together to paralyze us and keep us from hearing from the Lord.
· Indications that you are experiencing demonization or the beginnings of demonization which is the influence of the spirit of worry.
o Unable to sleep:
o Unable to eat:
o Unable to make decisions or process thoughts logically:
o Unable to control emotions:
o Isolation from Others:
· We are talking about situations where the spirit of worry is allowed freedom beyond the temporary situations. Applying these principles to the temporary will provide support from the Lord but also prevent it from becoming prolonged worry that gives the enemy the legal right to influence your life.
· Gave you the story of my life this week with my son and his procedure following his stroke earlier this year
· 6 Steps to Rid ourselves of the influence from the Spirit of: Worry, Fear, Anxiety, Dread, Apprehension
o Acknowledge it:
o Rebuke! Rebuke! Rebuke!:
o Repent: Psalm 56:3, Proverbs 10:24, Isaiah12:2
o Understand:
o Release it to the Lord: 1 Peter 5:7, Matthew 6:27, Matthew 6:25-26, Matthew 6:33,
o Replace it: Isaiah 26:4 Proverbs 3:5, Psalm 56:4, Isaiah 26:3, Romans 15:13,
We encourage you:
· To have an active Bible reading plan, it will be helpful in gaining wisdom and understanding and it is required for the gift of spiritual discernment
· Also, I want to encourage you to visit our website and join our Warrior community. I am working on planning some live events and the only way to be included in that is to be a part of our Warrior Community. Just visit our website, www.conqueringourunseenenemies.com, and join from the Home page or the Resources page.
Also, we just dropped a video from our Turkey travels on our YouTube Channel where we visited the ruins of Sardis, one of the 7 churches Jesus sends a message to in the Book of Revelation. Check it out!
I have enjoyed our time this week and look forward to spending time with you again next week!
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