What Are You LETTING The Devil Talk You Out Of?

Let me tell you about what I recently ALMOST let the enemy talk me out of that I KNOW God wants me to do.

Some of you are familiar with my story of chronic illness. How only a few short years ago, my body had deteriorated so much that my boys carried my purse for me, and would bring me a shopping cart if we were in a mall so I could use it as a walker because I was in so much pain.

I surrendered everything to God. I told him that I would love and serve him faithfully even if I never got better. But I told Him "if you let me, if it's your will God I will make this body as healthy as I can possibly make it." I told Him that I’d be an example of what you can do with EDS if you don’t give up. Things miraculously started to fall into place which clearly told me that indeed it was God's will for me to feel better than I was feeling. A lot better!

At the end of 2023, I felt like I needed to set the goal of doing Romanian deadlifts in my body weight to help give my hips more stability, since that is an area I still struggle with. At that point, I was doing them with 105 lbs of resistance. I had a ways to go to get to my body weight, but I was pretty sure I could do it over time.

Right after setting that goal… my body fell apart again. It seemed like everything I had learned wasn't nearly enough. I was in so much pain again, and I just didn't know what to do about it. I tried several different things and started to make a bit of progress. But it was so slow and so minor that I started to talk myself out of the goal.

​
I started to listen to “little lies” the devil was planting in my mind:

“You have EDS, are you sure that's even a good goal?”

“You're almost 50 Dorothy. Is that really even possible?”

“Not sure if that's reasonable considering you're in menopause.”

“Isn’t what you are already doing enough?”

“Honestly Dorothy, that goal was kind of ridiculous, don’t you think?”

Then one day, I caught on to what the devil was doing. What I was letting him do. Because he would give me one thought and then I had six more. Well, enough is enough. OH it was so sneaky I almost missed it!!!

Once I caught on, that was it. I've doubled down in determination. I'm progressing far faster than before I caught on to these devious thoughts that I almost let defeat me. I’m at 125lbs, I’ll let you know when I get to my body weight. I know it will be soon!

This is the verse God gave me for this season:

Isaiah 50:7

Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.

I LOVE the “set my face like a flint” part… It means I am entirely determined and immovable. Flint stone is strong. It’s used to start fires and make weapons.

So my question to you is:

What are you LETTING the devil talk you out of??

Did the enemy tell you were too old? (Abraham's promise came when he was 100, so nope, you are not too old!)

Or it wouldn’t make a difference because it’s too small a thing? (Jesus fed 5000 with 12 baskets of leftovers from a boy surrendering 5 loaves and two fish! God can do A LOT with small acts of obedience)

Friends, God has things prepared for you to do. Things that you were not expecting to do! If you had told me that this would be a goal for me 10 years ago, I would have told you to slow your roll, that’s crazy. And yet…here we are.

It fills me with righteous indignation when I see so many friends and loved ones being yanked around by his lies. I almost let him do that to me.

You are not done.

The situation is not hopeless.

God has more for you.

​
Ephesians 6:12

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

​
​This was never a war about what my body could do, it was ALWAYS about what authority I was giving my mind to.

Whatever God asked you to do and you haven’t done, it’s not about “the thing.” It’s about the belief that God will come through for you and about obedience to His voice.

To be clear, I am not talking about any “name it and claim it” garbage. I am talking about surrendering to something God has told you to do that you unknowingly let little lies talk you out of.

Something probably came to your mind while reading this. There was a hint of conviction about something God told you to get after ages ago. What is it?

Choose what authority you give your mind to this week, my friends.

In passionate purpose,

Dorothy