There are times when I get discouraged and don’t seem to have the energy to even put up much of a fight. Can any of you relate to that? Do you ever feel that the world is winning every battle and the devil is pounding away at you and you can’t even offer much of a defense? I feel that way sometimes, but recently, when I was feeling especially down, the Lord gave me a vision and a different perspective.

When Satan tries to tell me that I am a failure and that I always will be a failure and he brings to my mind mistakes that I have made and tells me of all the times that I have failed and then tells me that I am therefore a failure, I will refer him to my Big Brother, Jesus. “You, Satan, are the father of lies. You are the accuser of the brethren. You are the one who hates me and who seeks to kill and to steal and to destroy. You intend nothing but my destruction and plan for nothing but my failure. But let me introduce you to my Big Brother, Jesus. I think you may have met Him before. Do you remember? He was the One who kicked you out of heaven and determined that you would crawl on the earth like a serpent. He was the One who defeated you in the wilderness and resisted every one of your temptations. You will remember that He is the One who drove the cross through your skull on Calvary’s hill and He is the One who said, ‘It is finished,’ from the cross. He is the One who has delivered me from the domain of darkness. He is the One who has destroyed your works. He is the One who has conquered death and He is the One who promises that I will never be condemned. He is the One who is at my side and has promised to never leave me or forsake me. Nothing shall be able to take me out of His hand and nothing can separate me from His love for me. He is the One who is in heaven interceding for me. He is the One who is with me like a dread champion. He is my Refuge and my Rock and my Redeemer. He is the One who will come from heaven with a shout and with the voice of the archangel to receive me into heaven and to give me a glorified body. And He is the One who will throw you into the lake of fire to be tormented forever. Don’t you remember Him? I think you do. He is my Big Brother. He is the One who will defend me from those too strong for me.

“So if you have something to say to me, Satan, and you have some accusation to bring against me; if there is some discouragement that you want to bring against me or if you want to remind me of some failure and if you want to tell me that I am a failure, you will need to speak to my Big Brother first and see what He has to say about it. The reality is that apart from Jesus, I am nothing and can do nothing, but because Jesus Christ is my King and because He died for me and because He is for me and because nothing can separate me from His love, I am destined for glory and my life is useful to the Master. I have been given a white robe and a ring. I have been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ so that I am whiter than snow. My frail efforts, when offered in the name of Jesus, are powerful for the destruction of all your fortresses. You, Satan, say that I am a failure, but Jesus Christ says I belong to Him, that he has bought me with the price of His own blood and that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. You, Satan, say that I will fail and that the future is bleak, but because you are the father of lies, I know that is a lie and that my future is, in fact, bright and that God will use me and that nothing can stand against God’s purposes to bring about His glory through my feeble efforts. So tell your lies to my Advocate and to my Intercessor and to my Redeemer and see what He has to say about them.”

Isaiah 64:4; Romans 8:31-39; John 19:30; 2 Cor. 5:2; 2 Timothy 2:21; Romans 8:1; Hebrews 13:5; Revelation 19:11-16; Matthew 4:1-11; Jeremiah 20:11; Colossians 1:13; 1 John 3:8; 2 Timothy 1:10; John 10:28-29; John 15:5; Isaiah 1:18; 2 Cor. 10:4; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; Romans 8:28; John 8:44; Isaiah 43:1-2; Revelation 20:10; Zechariah 3:1-7; Genesis 3:14-15.