Devotionals

What The Enemy Plants As Seeds

Matthew 13:25
ESV
25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.

The Bible describes how the enemy plants seeds into our lives. Watching pornographic material and things can allow the enemy to plant seeds of lust, perversion and more into our lives and soon they begin to grow. The more we watch, the more we water these seeds and the more they grow. Before they were small and weak but now they grew roots, firm and it's now a stronghold. So many of us still have these chains and strongholds in our lives. It feels like that sin has a rope over us and has power over our lives. That's how some who have had this addiction, struggle to let it go because of all those times of watering. We can water with our minds. With what we watch and read. With conversations we entertain that give the enemy access to build lust and sexual sin into our lives.

You see strongholds, chains, and ties are all things that the enemy sowed in our lives. Whether through ignorance, where we, in a lack of knowledge unknowingly gave the enemy access to plant these seeds. It can come through neglect, eg if you don't read the word often you'll start backsliding, if you don't seek God with your questions you'll have doubt. It can come through sin such as what you watch, see, hear and entertain. It can come through others who negatively influence you. It can come through staying in the wrong environment such as people who gossip with you constantly and now you have this habit of gossiping that feels as though it's difficult to break free from.

It's where the enemy deposits things into your life that in the long run become like heavy chains this can also be anxiety, thoughts that seem of etc. He can deposit fear into our lives, shame and condemnation that start crippling our faith.

I don't want you to just know the enemy can build chains or has built them but I want us to know what in Christ we have the authority to do.

We can pray against these strongholds and also uproot these seeds by the power of the name of Jesus. We can break every chain but we can also avoid doors opening in the first place. When we are awake spiritually and are actively pursuing a relationship with God in prayer, worship and reading the word we can be alert to not allow the enemy to plant things. This is when we look away when we see something we know we shouldn't see. This is walking away from relationships that cause us to compromise. This is when we cover our ears to gossip that can draw us nearer to being slanderers. This is when we go to God in prayer asking for His strength each day to resist the devil and not fall into temptation.

I want to end this by saying, for those who feel they have strongholds, those that feel chained to something as if these evil seeds were planted and now they are growing. I would encourage you to pray, fast and ask Jesus to break them. You do not have to live oppressed, you don't have to live powerless and weak. You don't have to act as if the kingdom of darkness is stronger than the one in you. You have the authority in Christ Jesus to do so and those who sense the enemy knocking at the door, to bring you to sin or where you feel tempted to go back to places where God delivered you from, pray for God's power, fire and glory to come down and destroy these attacks.

But don't remain silent. Don't remain passive. Don't remain in this negativity of its always going to be this way. That entertains the thoughts of discouragement saying how it's been days, weeks, months or years. Don't listen to the voice of fear telling you nothing will happen and to give up. Don't listen to the voice of condemnation trying to get you to doubt God is with you and will help you to overcome these challenges. Repent, seek to change and desire to walk in righteousness for the glory of God, turn away from those sins and fight back with the word of God as a stubborn woman. Be stubborn by praying constantly. Even if things appear as they are getting worse, sis pray with perseverance and boldness in the word of God!

Always fight back!

-etty

Scriptures to meditate on and use as your sword

Luke 10:19
NKJV
19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Matthew 28:18
ESV
18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Philippians 2:10-11
ESV
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5
NKJV
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

Jeremiah 20:11
ESV
11 But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior;
therefore my persecutors will stumble;
they will not overcome me.
They will be greatly shamed,
for they will not succeed.
Their eternal dishonor
will never be forgotten.