In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.
The good news is that our identity is not found in what the devil and world thinks of us. Our identity is found in the greatest man that ever lived, Jesus. God is that voice of truth saying: "You are beautiful, you are talented, you are smart, you are not alone, you are strong, you are more than enough." Christ is what many call their conscience or that little, white angel dude on their shoulder. He doesn't have to scream lies or remind us of our brokenness. He doesn't tempt us to make a wrong turn. Instead, with a loving voice, He whispers truth in our ears for He is close to those that believe. He leads us to a place of freedom and abundance. He longs to take away your loneliness, your fear, your mistakes, your pain, your emotional baggage. He says to give it to Him and He will care for you. Unfortunately, many of us fail to see and do this. We spend our time looking for self-approval from loved ones, from career paths, from fortune, from fame, and from all the wrong things. We attach ourselves to a person because we can't stand to be alone and expect that other flawed and imperfect person to save us and fill a void. But they can't. They are not God. If we lean upon them too hard, we'll both fall. Some spend our time striving after what the world calls "success" doing whatever it takes whether that's sipping on sin or neglecting our relationships. Others let our emotions take us on an unstable roller-coaster ride, pushing people off the tracks and at any moment, bound to fall off the edge ourselves. Still others maximize our fear and minimize our faith so much so that it keeps us hostage and controls us from achieving our dreams, which are otherwise known as our God-given potential.
The devil will do anything to keep us from what God has for us. He knows that every good and perfect gift comes from above. He despises us. But if we decide to make Jesus the center of it all, tell the Devil he's a liar, and hold on to our faith even in uncertain times, then God will liberate, deliver, redeem, and save us. Not just tomorrow but today. He'll ignite a calling inside of us, larger than life, so that He gets glory (so others may know His grace) and our joy may be fulfilled. So friend, in this life, you'll face a battle of good vs. evil. Know that Satan comes to kill and devour but Jesus came so that you may be set free and have life. Be warned that if you look to the world corrupted by Satan, (imperfect humans, alcohol, drugs, sex, smokes, money, popularity) you will always be disappointed in the end. But if you look to the author and perfecter of your faith, Jesus Christ, you'll be unstoppable. For if He is for us, who can be against us? After all, He's already won. When He got up on that cross, He said, "It is finished." You want more out of life? You want answers? You want joy? You want hope? You want fulfillment? Look to the cross and know that if you're on Team Jesus, you are already victorious. The war is won. Are you on the right side?