Satan – Hope for Complete Healing

How to Convert Pridefulness to Gentleness and Humility

You might think you have the right to be prideful because of your position in life, accomplishments, or status in the community. None of those situations are bad, nor does it mean you have arrogant, self-centered pride. Being proud of your accomplishments is different than thinking you’re better than someone else. I have to admit that I struggle with pride because I slip into thinking more highly of myself than I ought to. Most pride issues come from unhealthy beliefs that need to be uncovered and transformed by truth.

How often have you heard people make excuses for their bad behavior and accept it as part of who they are? So why is self-centered pridefulness a bad thing? The Spirit of pride keeps you from acknowledging your sin, apologizing, and repenting. I have written several posts on this subject, to learn more please read the posts listed below:

HOW PRIDE DESTROYS

#1 Destroyer of All Relationships and the Solution

Anger Issues Protected by Pride and Judgmental Strongholds

My website is about changing unhealthy beliefs to experience a new reality. What we think and say comes from what we believe, and what we believe directs our behavior. Our choices determine how healthy our relationships will be. In this series of posts, I will expose the unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and how to transform them with the truth to experience a new reality. So why should we deal with pridefulness, and how does it block a gentle and meek attitude?

Where Does the Prideful Belief Come From?

The primary source of sinful pride is the devil. Self-centered, unhealthy beliefs are based on wrong assumptions and perceptions put into our minds by the demonic spirits all around us. Remember, we are spirit beings in a physical body living in a physical world controlled by the spirit world. You can read more about that in my post called: Four Realities of the Spirit World, also see the link below by Dr. David Jeremiah. If you are not submitted to God and are not resisting the devil, he will put the thoughts into your mind that you deserve better treatment than that, and so on.

Satan (angel named Lucifer, meaning “morning star”) sinned because of his pride by wanting to set his throne above God’s throne and was thrown down to earth (Isaiah 14:13-15 and Rev. 12:7-9). He causes us to sin through the same prideful attitude. Pride is thinking more highly of yourself than you ought to think (Romans 12:3), which also encourages us to think with sober (sound) judgment, that is, with a humble attitude. You know you have a spirit of pride when you are self-centered and insist on getting what you want at the expense of others. And, you know you are prideful when you become offended and get a bad attitude toward someone for what they said/did not say or did/not did something you felt was unfair.

How do you know if you are humble?

God’s word defines a humble person as follows:

1. Someone who fears God (Prov. 15:33; 22:4).

2. A person who bears with others and is kind, patient, and forgiving (Eph 4:2 & 32).

3. When we count others as more important than ourselves (Phil. 2:3).

4. If you have wisdom that is pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere (James 3:17; Proverbs 11:2).

5. Someone who has acknowledged they are a sinner and repents (Psalm 149:4).

6. A person with a contrite (repentant) heart who trembles at God’s Words (Isaiah 66:2).

7. A humble person is not judgmental but gives grace (Eph 4:29).

What Is the Truth That Transforms this Unhealthy Belief?

The truth is that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (1Pet 5:5 and James 4:6).” 1Peter 5:6-7 states, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” Give God all the worries that cause you to be anxious, and trust God to take care of all your concerns. When you worry, you exalt yourself above God because you do not trust Him to take care of your affairs. When you humbly give God all your concerns, He promises to exalt you at the proper time.

James 4:7 states, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” When we submit to God, we are humbling ourselves and acknowledging our sin and need for His power and strength. But we are also to resist the devil and his temptations toward selfish ambition and pride. James 3:14-16 states, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to [deny] the truth. ¹⁵This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile [evil] practice.” First, humbly ask God to show you if this verse applies to your life. Secondly, if you see selfishness, acknowledge that you have an unhealthy pride that leads to selfish ambition and ask for God’s forgiveness. Thirdly, ask God to remove it and to give you a humble spirit.

How To Change Unhealthy Beliefs

1. Before you can transform unhealthy beliefs, listen to what you are saying and pay attention to your thoughts because they come from unhealthy beliefs.

2. Submit the wrong thinking to God and ask Him to show you His transforming truth.

3. Ask God to show you if there is a painful memory contributing to your pridefulness. Satan takes every opportunity to inject pride into our minds.

4. Pray and put off the unhealthy belief controlling your thoughts and put on the truth God shows you from His Word.

I first loosed the wrong thinking that God showed me and replaced it with scripture truths similar to the following:

Humility realizes that everything I have, including my abilities, is a gift from God. Deut. 8:17-18

I do not think of myself more highly than others, but in humility, I will regard others as more important than myself. Rom. 12:3; Phil. 2:3

God lifts up the humble in due time, so I will cast all my anxiety on Him because He cares for me. 1 Pet. 5:6-7; James 4:10

I am humbled when I see my need for God and trust He will guide me in what is right for all His ways are loving and faithful. Ps. 25:9-10

When I am humble, then I will be honored. Prov.15:33b

HOW TO DESTROY THE DEVIL’S WORK IN YOUR LIFE

Who Is Lucifer in the Bible?

All verses are from the English Standard Bible unless otherwise indicated. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share the links with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. No part of the posts or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-Changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, salvation for non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. Please leave your name so I know you are a person making the request.

Idolatry and Soul Ties

Dear Friends,

Every living soul has wounds of rejection and will try to get their love-need met by equally wounded people. Wounded people cannot love us as God loves us. So, many of us become or have become sexually involved with a person to feel loved. Sometimes, we are so desperate for love and acceptance we will seek relationships with people we are not compatible with, and who don’t have the same beliefs. When you seek to get your needs met from a relationship instead of seeking God, that is idolatry.

The following Scripture warns against idolatrous relationships with unbelievers. 1Corinthians 15:33 states,“Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’” And, 2Corinthians 6:14 tells us, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” To be yoked is to be bound together, much like two horses are harnessed together to pull a carriage. If one horse is old and slow and the other horse is young and fast, they would be unequally yoked. Both horses will get hurt in some way.

Have you ever been unequally yoked? How did it work out? Being in a relationship with unbelievers or worldly Christians is risky because their minds are filled with the false beliefs of the world. Satan knows we are drawn away from our devotion to God and His truth when we become yoked with worldly people. For example, King Solomon’s pagan wives drew him away from his devotion to God by causing him to worship their idols.¹ As a consequence, God caused King Solomon to lose his kingdom because he did evil by worshiping idols. Another consequence of being yoked is it creates soul ties.

What are soul ties?

What do you know about soul ties? The short answer, soul ties, is the knitting of two or more individuals in body, soul, and spirit. Soul ties occur in three ways, emotional, sexual, and spiritual. For an example of an emotional soul tie, read the story of David and Johnathan. 1Samual 18:1 states, “As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” The relationship between Jesus and Mary, Lazarus’ sister, is another example of a spiritual soul tie. And, sexual intercourse causes two people to become one flesh, thus creating a soul tie.²

When you have a soul tie with another person, your spirit will be affected by that person’s demonic spirit attachments. For example, I sought love from an unbelieving boyfriend in High School and he forced himself on me. The soul tie with him negatively impacted my marriage to other men until I broke it with a prayer to loose and put it off from my spirit in Jesus’ name. When that soul tie was broken, I felt a release of an oppressive spirit. I felt love for my husband for the first time. I did this with all my past unhealthy relationships. I am now free from a host of negative spiritual, mental, and emotional issues. So, to be free from the control of evil spirits in another person’s life, then the soul ties need to be loosed and put off.

You can be friends with unbelievers and share your testimony with them without forming a soul tie. However, close friendships or partnerships with worldly people or cultural Christians will open you to be influenced by the evil spirits influencing them. For instance, a person who is not devoted to Jesus Christ cannot submit to God and does not resist the devil. So, the devil will control them to do his will, which will negatively impact your life.³ The Apostle Paul explains this in his letter to the Romans:

Romans 8:5-8 states, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6) For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7) For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8) Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. ” For a better understanding of living according to the flesh, read Unseen Battle With The Secular World

How to find fully devoted Christian friends.

You need Christian friends who are fully devoted to God because if they are not, they will negatively influence your relationship with God. You might ask, how do I know if someone is submitted to God? I’m glad you asked. Use the following questions to learn if the person you may want a close relationship with is spiritually mature.

1) Do they talk about God and the Bible, or are they more interested in worldly entertainment and earthly things?

2) Do they display devotion to God, such as going to church, reading and memorizing Scriptures, sharing their faith, serving others, and praying?

3) Do they live like Christ-followers led by the Spirit, or do their lives resemble unbelievers following their sinful flesh?

4) Are they seeking to live holy and pure lives through Christ Jesus? How do they react to hurts, trials, and temptations?

5) Do they show they love God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength by not having any idols in their lives as described in this chapter? Where are their devotions and affections (i.e., spend their time and money?)

6) Do your close friends show love for their neighbors by helping those in need, encouraging them with kind words, etc.?

7) Do they stay in forgiveness, or do they easily take up and hold on to offenses? This question will reveal if they are prideful and have wounds in their soul.

8) Are they thankful, or do they complain?

9) Are your close friends pursuing righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness, and peace?

10)Do they live by faith in Jesus Christ, or do they proudly rely on themselves to be good enough instead of trusting in Jesus Christ?

1. King Solomon and wives: 1Kings 11:1-13.

2. Sexual ties: Ephesians 5:31 and 1Corinthians 6:16.

3. Controlled by the devil: James 4:7 and 2Timothy 2:26.

Grace and peace to you,

Joyce

RELATED POSTS:

Fear God, Not People

Breaking Childhood Rejection and Insignificance Strongholds.

Are Your Relationships Improving Your Well-Being?

Healthy Boundaries for Toxic Emotions and People

All verses are from the English Standard Bible. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share the links with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected, and no part of the posts or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom.

Check out my first book on Amazon. I would love to hear what you think.

If you read my book and find it helpful, please leave a review. Also, if you want to do a Bible study with it, email me and ask for a free PDF of the leader’s guide. The PDF will have suggested discussion questions after each section. Quick links to all the scriptures in the endnotes for you to review or to copy and paste into your notes. Website links to review supporting material. Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

How the Devil Causes Trouble

Can the devil and demons cause us trouble? The quick answer, yes. The long answer, yes, but God sets limits and promises to be with you, and restore you. God also promises to rescue those who fear and love Him from all their troubles. Psalms 91:14 tells us, “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he knows my name.” For more details, see my blog post called Psalm 91:14-16 — RESCUED FROM TROUBLES. Psalm 34:7 states, “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.”

Example of a demon afflicting the Apostle Paul.

The Apostle Paul describes how a demon afflicted him in 2Corinthians 12:7-9,

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8) Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9) But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

God’s grace is enough for us when we suffer hardships. God’s grace is His power in your life. No one knows what the thorn in the flesh was, but Paul did not like it and pleaded with God to remove it. In 2Corinthians 12:10 Paul stated, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Also, in Philippians 4:11 Paul said, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”

An example in the Apostle Peter’s life.

In Luke 22:31-32 Jesus said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you (demanded permission), that he might sift you like wheat, 32) but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Your faith will be tested, so expect it. During the test, turn your eyes on God in prayer and receive His comfort.

Paul states in 2Corinthians 1:3-4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” God knows hardships are inevitable, so comfort others with the same comfort you received from Him. Jesus comforted Peter after Satan tested his faith (see John 21:15-17), so Peter could have compassion for those whose faith is being tested and can comfort them.

Example in the Christian church.

Jesus says in Revelation 2:10, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Know that God is with you no matter what the hardship is, and you can trust Him to keep His promises to deliver you from all your troubles. Jesus tells us in John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” And the reason why we have tribulations is explained in 1John 5:19b, which states, “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”

Only as you stay in prayer, trusting God to strengthen your faith as you endure the hardship, will you be victorious. 1John 4:4 tells us, “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.” Jesus is greater than Satan, so you can endure in Christ’s strength as Paul tells us in Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

To clear up any confusion you may have, I am not saying all hardships come from the devil. Many hardships come through our self-centered, sinful, choices. This concept will be fleshed out in the next blog post.

The example of Job.

We can’t forget about Job (sounds like robe) and the hardships Satan caused. He was very wealthy and devoted to God. But with God’s permission, Satan caused Job’s children to die, lose his wealth, and tormented him with boils over his entire body. Job 1:8-12, states,

“And the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?’ 9) Then Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘Does Job fear God for no reason? 10) Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11) But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.’ 12) And the LORD said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.’ So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.”

Many truths can be found in the book of Job. Job never curses God, and at the end of the story, God gives Job twice as much as he had before (see Job 42:10-17). Could Job’s fear have opened him up to his hardships? Job 3:25 states, “For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me.” The Hebrew literal interpretation is “I feared a fear, and it came upon me.”

Fear comes when you stop trusting in God’s protection and focus on the what-ifs that may never happen. Job’s fears opened the door to allow Satan to bring destruction into his life. Many people have unrealistic fears that cause them to become “preppers” (people who stockpile food and goods) for something that may never happen. Some people have a debilitating fear of germs or disease, which entraps them in restrictive behavior. God says in Isaiah 41:10, “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Put off the wrong thoughts that lead to fear and pride and bind in the truth, God is your protection and your provider. Read my post on how fear controls you and that God will not forsake you.

There is hope when you look to Jesus to strengthen you and to deliver you from your hardships. I am praying for you. Please leave a comment, I like to hear what your thoughts are.

If you find my posts and website helpful, then please share the link to my post and website with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected and no part of the posts or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. Please leave your name so I know you are a real person making the request.

P.S.: Experiencing lasting change in your life depends on having a right relationship with God the Father through believing in His Son Jesus Christ and obeying His command to love (1 John 3).

OTHER RELATED POSTS:

Psalm 91 Posts