In the last four or five months, I’ve heard more and more stories of people going through intense battles. Maybe you’re one of them, or perhaps you know someone who is in the thick of warfare right now.I know that these people are close to a great victory and I want to encourage you today with this thought—It’s possible that the warfare in your life is happening because you’ve crossed over from the land of comfort into the land of courage. I propose that the reason you’re in warfare is not that you’re a loser but because you’re a winner. You’re more than a conqueror which means you were born to conquer!
I feel like there is an onslaught of fear right now because we’re moving into enemy territory that has been occupied for years. Demonic forces that have held the planet in their clutches for generations are being broken. So, the enemy is resisting you because you’ve come here to change the world—not to control it or tell it what it’s doing wrong—but to love the hell out of the earth. And as you take new ground, there’s resistance pushing back against you.
THE DEVIL STALKS GREATNESS
We see this play out in Scripture over and over again. There isn’t one great character in the Bible that I admire who didn’t have at least one great battle and an ultimate victory. It’s the fact that they overcame obstacles that made them great! Think about it; there was so much warfare around David’s life, Elijah’s life and Esther’s life (to name a few). When thinking through this it strikes me that the devil stalks greatness! It’s a compliment and a sign of greatness when the darkness is stalking you.
It’s important to remember, though, that you yourself were created to stalk the darkness! You did not attain royalty without a purpose. One of the mandates of nobility is to leave the coming generations better off than how we receive the world. So, it is encumbered upon us to enjoy the privilege of the palace ( the benefits of our position as God’s children ) along with the responsibility of royalty.
A NOTE ON THE JEZEBEL SPIRIT
One of the demonic forces I see active on the earth with those who are in the midst of warfare right now is the Jezebel spirit. I want to be clear that Jezebel is not a strong-willed woman, but rather a spirit, which is personified by a woman in the story in the Bible. I know that some people in the church like to label women who have a strong voice or point of view as a Jezebel, but that is simply inaccurate and inappropriate.
If you’re a strong woman who has an opinion then I want to say that does not make you a Jezebel, it makes you a thinker. And, I have great respect and admiration of every personality type of men and women. The Jezebel spirit is an issue of spirits, not of flesh and blood. Remember, Ephesians 6:12 which says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
4 SIGNS YOU’RE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A SPIRIT OF
JEZEBEL
So how do you know if you’re under the influence of a Jezebel spirit? I encourage you to read the full story of this playing out in 1 Kings chapters 18 and 19. The story is long but what I want you to know before reading on is that Elijah had just come out of a great battle, and won a great victory (he defeated 850 false prophets). Suddenly he came under the influence of a spirit of Jezebel when she said she was going to kill him.
Here are four signs you’re under the influence of the spirit of Jezebel:
1. Irrational fear and insecurity. Elijah had just killed 850 prophets and turned the Israelites back to God. He had a great victory! However, when Jezebel said she’d kill Elijah, he ran for his life. Her threat to his life was not a real threat because he could easily defeat her, as he had just defeated 850 false prophets. So, this fear was irrational. You may be under the influence of a spirit of Jezebel if you are dealing with irrational fears that make no sense in light of the reality of your life.
2. The spirit of suicide. Elijah wants to die when he comes under the influence of the spirit of Jezebel. Let’s think about where else this happens in the Bible. When Jesus met Satan in the wilderness in Matthew 4, one of the temptations was to throw himself off the pinnacle of the temple. Suicide is actually a spirit. How do we know this? Because self-preservation is one of the most common drivers of creation. So what causes a person to want to take their own life? I propose to you that this desire is not human. Your innate desire is to live, but the person (satan) who hates you, wants to see you die.
3. Confusion. Elijah doesn’t want to live and ends up in a cave, isolated and alone. When he recounts the story of what had just happened to God, he brings up a story that is many years old and about a time when everything was going wrong. Yet, the most recent story, of 41 days prior, is about his victory! All he can remember is what went wrong. He is confused and forgot about his recent breakthrough! If you can’t see clearly, feel foggy in your spirit, and are confused about where God has brought you from, you may be under the influence of this spirit.
4. Isolation. Elijah said to God, “I alone am left” (1 Kings 19:10) but God responds that He has 7,000 other prophets who had not bowed their knees to Baal. When you’re under the influence of a spirit of Jezebel you feel alone and think you’re the only one left. It’s like the world is coming to an end. But it’s important to remember the truth is that the world has dramatically improved in the last 100 years! You are not alone and God is moving on the earth!
YOU ARE DESTINED FOR VICTORY AND PREPARED FOR
BATTLE!
Here are three of my favorite Bible verses that I remind myself of constantly when I’m in the middle of a battle:
Philippians 1:28—(be) “in no way alarmed by your opponents– which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God.”
Isaiah 54:14—”In righteousness you will be established; You will be far from oppression, for you will not fear; And from terror, for it will not come near you.
Joshua 1:6—”Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.”
I hope that you’ll take ahold of these and meditate on them! We have this idea that we will do something great when our fear goes away. I suggest that you’re never going to do anything great fearlessly, but you will courageously. Courage is not being fearless. Courage is doing the right thing in the face of an emotion that says you should be nervous or anxious. So even though things may feel scary right now, I bless you with the supernatural courage to take possession of the new land you’re stepping into!
It will take the same level of risk to apprehend your seat of destiny to carry out your divine purpose once you’re in the position. So I encourage you to be courageous, to choose to move forward when you’re tempted to freeze and to remember that you were born for such a time as this!
MY PRAYER FOR YOU
I pray that whatever battle you’re in, that there would be a great victory coupled with an occupation. It’s not just about winning a battle, but rather occupying the land God gave you. I pray that as you read this prayer, that you’ll have a sense of purpose, destiny, authority, and responsibility:
Father, I thank you that you help us overcome the spirit of Jezebel with the power of courage and the presence of faith. I pray that unlike Elijah, we would remember that this is a bad day, not a bad life. We remember the testimonies of the work you’ve done through our lifetime. We thank you that all things work together for our good in the end.
Lord, encourage the exhausted and make the weak and feeble strong with courage. I pray in Jesus name there would be a deep sense of purpose in all of our lives that would take us out of the prison and into the palace. Amen.
