Victory!

Back in March I had an allergic reaction to fire ant bites. I felt my face and throat swelling which then turned into a huge panic attack. With lots of Benedryl and supervision from the school nurse, I was back to normal soon after. Since then from time to time that panic has risen. Before I realized these were panic attacks, I went to the doctor. (I was panicking to the point of blacking out.) We figured out then that these were in fact fear induced panic attacks. I was thinking what normal 24 yr. old has panic attacks?! I know I'm not a psycho! But these episodes were none the less very scary. As time passed, and these episodes continued I realized that there was a mental battle going on. I was not eating anything unusual or had any weird bites yet the panic attacks continued. One day it hit me. This had become a spiritual battle. My thoughts were fearful. That day I claimed that I would no longer live in fear. I had victory in Jesus and was claiming that!

Why did I tell you all of this? Today in my bible study we discussed psychological battles. She explained, ..."because Satan has limited leash where believers are concerned, his most powerful tactics are psychological. Though he can not possess our minds, he profoundly and destructively influences our thoughts." Many women get trapped in mental torment over worry, weight, jobs, am I a good enough mother, wife, etc....The enemy loves nothing more than to see us forfeit our joy. Today was a great reminder that this in fact is psychological warfare. "We must catch the enemy in the act, call it what it is, and keep him from what he wants." So today let's not forfeit our joy for the enemy's lies, but live in the victory that we have in Christ alone!