“When I’m not chasing Demons, there’s demons chasing me.”
When you’re bowing down to other idols (demons) in life…money, food, drugs, sex, alcohol, love, approval etc…(before I go any further, obviously food, money, sex, alcohol, love & approval are not bad in the right context) you don’t have “demons” on your back because you’re going the same direction as them…but you feel stuck in the same circle of chasing these things…because nothing is ever filling that need, nothing is ever enough. You get a little bit, you want more, you get more and it doesn’t fulfill you the way you thought it would. It’s an empty well as Jesus refers to in John 4:13, 14: “Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks water, from this well, will need more water later. Whoever drinks my water will never need more. My water will be like a stream that gives *eternal life’.”
When you’re following Jesus, and doing anything of eternal worth for Him, you have a target on your back! … or as the song says ‘Demons chasing you’ to trip you up.
Something that trips me up is insecurity … I always wonder what it would be like to see me from another persons view. Not that it would matter because everyone’s perception of me is different.
It’s good to have certain people in your life that you can go to and ask, “Who do you see me as?” “How am I doing?” “What can I work on?” “What are my strengths?” & they respect & love you enough to give you honest feedback with no agenda.
But that’s not the only place you need to go & ask, “How am I doing?” & “Who do you see me as?” because it COULD be an empty well. You could walk into that conversation with the wrong intention expecting the other person to build you up, expecting the other person to give you approval and a confidence boost.
Lately God has been showing me that in my past, I would allow peoples comments to dictate who I was, good or bad. I thought that another person could have a better view of who I really was and that what they said, must be true.
If someone said I was fat, I’d take that comment & bury it in my heart as a part of who I was. If someone said I was smart, I’d do the same. But if you asked just anybody what your flaws or strengths were, you probably wouldn’t get an honest answer, because they would hold back to an extent & when you are feeling insecure about yourself, the person to ask isn’t your best friend or your pastor…there is a time & a place for that, but usually not when you are feeling insecure.
When you’re feeling the demon of insecurity chasing you down & you find yourself looking for approval, the person to ask is Jesus. “Jesus…HOW DO YOU SEE ME?!” What does Your word say about me?
I’ve written a few verses below…
Genesis 1:27 “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
Psalm 139:14 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Jeremiah 31:3 “The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
1 Corinthians 6:20 “You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
If He gave His son for you & you were bought at a price, don’t you think you are worthy?
Romans 8:16 “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”
Isaiah 44:22 “I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 “So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away--look, what is new has come”
1 John 4:4 “Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world.”
John 15:9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.”
Ephesians 1:13 “And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)--when you believed in Christ--you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit”
Isaiah 43:4 “Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you”
Ephesians 5:8 “For you were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light”
Colossians 2:10 “You have been filled in him, who is the head over every ruler and authority”
Thessalonians 1:4 “We know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you”
Galatians 5:1 “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery”
He loves you, He chose you, He says you are valuable; He says you are worthy & wonderful.
The way you view yourself matters, because the way you view yourself dictates the way you live your life.
So what do you do?
Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will”
You stand & fight. You renew your mind with what HE says about you. It’s the same for insecurity, as it is for doubt, discouragement & even when you’re faced with temptation to go back to your old ways.
1 Corinthians 10:13 says:
“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”
2 Corinthians 12:9, 10 say:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” & “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
I’d rather be FREE & have demons chasing me because I have a BIG God who will fight for me, than constantly be chasing the “demons” of approval, love, money, sex and drugs etc that hold me in chains and dictate how I live my life.
Don’t allow other people or demons to dictate who you are.
You are who God says you are, stand on His truth & He will fight the fight for you.
