Listen to Nancy answer this question recorded on Moody Radio with Kelli and Steve
Today, the statistics on depression and anxiety especially, among teens, are at an all-time high. No matter what the source, we know that these conditions do not come from the heart of God. As Christians, we fight a battle in a spiritual realm: a war between Satan and the Holy Spirit for our souls. One way Satan attacks is to put negative thoughts our minds that can cause fear, doubt, anxiety, loneliness, and isolation.
Satan’s focus is to kill and destroy us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He attacks all people, young or old, at any time. Satan is real. God created him as the highest angel in Heaven until he wanted to be God and be worshiped by angels and even God. God threw Satan to earth along with a ⅓ of all the angels that now inhabit the world as demons. They work in the minds of believers and non-believers by speaking lies about who they are and who God is. We know his nature by how the Bible describes him. Scripture says he is a liar, the enemy, the tempter, accuser, deceiver, murderer, and imposter, to name a few.
“And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Revelation 12:9).
We know that Satan will always pervert what God has called good and evil, right and wrong. He will always make us feel like God is withholding the good things of life from us. Satan encourages gossip, lying, anger, stealing, pride, slander, guilt, unbelief, discouragement, hopelessness, worry, and anxiety. None of the character attributes of Satan are embraced by God. Satan wants all people to mentally suffer with no hope of peace or healing. His temporary success is responsible for the 300% increase in teen suicide. Such victories are short-lived because at the end of time, God will do away with Satan and all the demons forever. Until then, we have to make sure that we always look at God’s Word for the truth about who we are and who God is.
“And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).
The importance of reading and studying the scriptures cannot be understated. The word of God is truth. When we know the scripture, we can recognize and dismiss the lies that Satan whispers into our minds. He will always attack our character as he tries to undermine the truth about who we are as followers of Jesus.
Have you heard these lies whispered in your mind?
1. Satan: “You are a mistake! “
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. Psalm 139:13-16
“Greater is He that is in me than He who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
2. Satan: God hates you.
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east Is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:11,12).
3. Satan: “God will pay you back for your sins.”
“God does not deal with us according to our past sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10,12)
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
4. Satan: God does not care about you.
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
5. Satan: “You have no future. You will fail.”
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for peace and plenty and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
6. Satan: “God has no place for you when you die.”
“They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3,4)
Those who have put their trust in Jesus have nothing to fear. God put His Holy Spirit in us to fight against the Devil.
“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (1 John 4:4-6).