The power of the devil over us – depends.  First of all, the ‘sway of the wicked one lays over the whole world’ 1 John 5:19, which is to say, that those who are not of the Kingdom of God, through Christ – you are under the sway of the wicked one and he has power over you.  You are fair game according the rulers and principalities of this world for you are under their jurisdiction in the law of God.   Though God, extends grace to us, even while we walk in darkness, shielding us from untold schemes of the enemy we are still captive to Satan through our sin.  When we surrender our life to Jesus Christ, and commit to walk with Him in His Spirit by faith – the power no longer remains over us and in us.  The power of the Satanic Kingdom does continue however to have dominion in us after we have received the Holy Spirit – if we continue in unbelief, and in sin.  There are laws that God has put in place, physical laws, moral laws and spiritual laws and when we violate them, there is consequence that will ensue.  You put your hand in a burning flame, the law of this is that you will be burned.  You walk out in sub-zero weather unclothed – you will freeze.  You continue to walk in sin as a believer – the judgement of that sin is upon you and access is given to the devil and his kingdom to enter into your life.   This is why there is a struggle in our personal lives and do not thrive as what is meant as new creations in Christ.  There is the difference between a believer in Christ walking in the sanctification process, for this is a life of submission to Christ where what I am speaking about is not.  Instead we see a great majority sickly who have one foot in the kingdom of Satan and one foot in the kingdom of God and there has not been a true (full) commitment to Christ.   Unfortunately, it is the kingdom of Satan that will overpower – for God does not take pleasure in this and does not bless us as we continue to live as an unbeliever does.  This is clearly spoken in scripture when Paul says, what you sow into the flesh, you will reap corruption Gal 6:8.   We are encouraged many times in scripture to have ‘one mind’, the ‘same mind’ or the ‘mind of Christ’ and it is not a suggestion – it is the only way we will be able to receive the fullness of Christ and what He provides for us.  He says that ‘My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid’ John 14:27.  His peace is of the Spirit and is rooted in eternity and His peace will guard our hearts and minds as we read in Phil 4:6,7; Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  There are many whose minds are falling apart – among the Christian community.  Who are looking to the pharmaceutical to ‘deliver’ them from what afflicts them.  We must firmly grasp in what Christ accomplished in what He came to do, what the word in scripture says – IS TRUE.  Instead the mental distress is looked upon as beyond what Christ came to do and has done,  but is addressed as an illness that one randomly gets through no fault of their own, in that there is no responsibility or accountability nor is it looked upon as a condition of the heart.  We seem to miss or skim over the verses in the bible that say ‘if…….then’ referring that there are conditions we must meet – to receive the peace that Christ speaks of.  But because one foot stands in Satan’s kingdom (the world) and the other in the Kingdom of God, there seems to be options available that were never meant for the believer in Christ and now are somehow Christianized.   The ministry of reconciliation to Christ- that is to be our ministry – and is unheard of in most 2 Cor 5:17-19.  All things are under His Life and are in Him Col 1:9-18.  We cannot take His cup, and take the cup of Satan – and expect God to hear our prayers 1 Cor 10: 20-22!  It seems where ever I go, or read or hear there is a common theme that is upon us; depression, anxiety and disorders of various kinds as they are now rooted among us.  I believe that it would behoove us as those who walk in the peace of Christ, to share the truth of Jesus Christ in this concern.  But to be careful not to sell Him.  I think this is one of the major problems, that He has been marketed, bought and lived – as a fix to our problems.  And when He doesn’t fix them, we dive into mental descent and reach for other means to supplement ‘our walk.’   The degree of this that plague us in our Christian community has no resemblance to that of the early church to where anyone made it a subject to speak or teach about.   What I do read is the importance to understand that we wrestle not in the physical but our battle is spiritual – which begins in the mind Ephes 6:11-13, 2 Cor 10:3-6.  Our battlefield literally is in our minds.  We are told that in order to be transformed – we must renew our mind, how?  By the reading and studying and applying what the scriptures tell us Rom 12:2.  We are encouraged to cast down thoughts – that are not in line with Christ and what and who He is, and believe on, and take hold of, and live what the truth of who Christ is 2 Cor 10:5. This is to be our life’s work!  We are warned not be double minded, for this is the cause of instability James 1:8.  We are told that we have all the promises that are yes and Amen – In Christ 2 Cor 1:20.  That He is the Way, the Truth and the Life John 14:6!

Not unlike today, when we are bombarded with so much choice and our options to our food, housing, dress, career, entertainment etc. seem to be endless – this way of thought has unfortunately transferred into the church and why there is so much contradiction in the (bad) fruit was see in the lives in our midst.  For the fruit of the Spirit is the witness to His presence and working which is:

‘ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law’ Gal 5:22

Do you see the need for any pharmaceuticals or therapies if we were to be producers of these fruits?   Not only that but did you catch when it goes on to say that ‘against such there is no law?’  What does that mean?  It means that the Satanic Kingdom cannot touch or infect to corrupt anyone who produces the fruit of the Spirit!

For some who are regular readers of this blog you are probably noticing that I am repeating what I have written already – sorry for my redundancy, but I honestly think that this subject is not spoken or studied or taught enough and thus why we have such captivity among us.  There is hope and we need not settle for the remedy that this world offers us!  Yes and Amen!

see also from my other blog, A Word From the Lord – I Give Peace for I Am Peace