We must break the jugular of masturbation, pornography, lesbianism, homosexuality, lust, depression, oppression, spiritual delay, financial bankruptcy, joblessness, violence, death, and every other force that dares to lift its head above us.
When the devil attacks us, he always goes for our jugular.
A few years back, the devil decided to check my profile — and believe me, he does this with a lot of believers all around the world. When the devil knows he can’t destroy you, he tries to steal. When he sees he can’t steal, he tries to kill. And when that fails, the cycle continues.
So, they checked my profile. They observed the things I took the most pleasure in. They looked at food — yes, I like food, but I could do without it if I decided to. It wasn’t a big deal. So they passed.
They looked at fornication — that is, going as far as sleeping with a woman or indulging in any form of physical romance. But they also saw that, for some reason or the other, I wasn’t attached to such a lifestyle. So they passed again.
They looked at clubbing — and realized I had never clubbed in my life and had no appetite for it. They checked smoking, drinking, secular songs, and every other possible weakness — but none of them sufficed.
However, there was this small, seemingly insignificant part of my life that had been neglected for so long. They discovered I loved reading books — and I still do. I’m a writer, so why not? I read Christian books. I loved novels. As far as it was a book, I’d read it.
I believe the enemy rejoiced exceedingly and waited patiently for the perfect time to strike.
Early that year, I don’t know how, but I came across a certain book. Friends, the devil is very patient. He may not possess the fruits of the Spirit, but there’s one thing I know he has — patience.
I found a book whose title I will not mention here; I don’t want anyone searching for it. The book was erotically demonic — deeply influenced and inspired by Satan (permit me to use those words).
From the very moment I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down. The best I could do was skip a few pages. Eventually, I deleted it — but by then, the attack on my jugular had already succeeded.
From that day, an unusual craving began to rise within me — the urge to look at women lustfully. I can literally laugh about it now, because when you think of how strategic the devil is in mapping out his attacks against believers, you can only wonder.
Yes, I became addicted to pornography for a few months — until I came out of it. His mercy saved me.
I know people who went through the same cycle and stayed trapped in it for years. But God, in His kindness, made my case different. He showed me mercy. And when I was finally free, I made a promise — to go after the devil’s jugular.
Voice:
Three things happened when my jugular was attacked — and the first was this: I lost my voice.
The voice of a man differs from person to person. To some, it’s their message. To others, their books, their art, their business, their skill in acting, or their craftsmanship. Every man has a voice — a place of divine strength and influence.
That is your voice.
The moment our jugular is attacked, we lose that voice — that place of dominion. It could be in your business; maybe you used to have an upper hand in sales or leadership, but after an attack on your voice, everything began to decline.
Your voice is your strength.
As for me, I almost lost my writing. I couldn’t write. What do you have to say when you’re under the grip of Satan? You become silent — condemned. Sometimes, you even condemn yourself before God does.
Boldness:
Secondly, I lost boldness — the boldness to preach purity, to speak about the fear of God. It became a struggle.
The devil has gone all out in this generation to silence many in this area. Countless believers have lost their boldness to preach because of one single act of sin. Others have lost boldness in business, in ministry, in school — their confidence drained by guilt and self-accusation.
I am sincerely grieved for you, dear friend, if this has been your experience. But I pray that as you read through the remaining pages of this book, you will recover your boldness again.
Lawrence Oyor once shared the story of a man who was deeply anointed — a vessel mightily used by God. If one were to compare the measure of the anointing upon his life with that of many men of God today, his would be a drum, while others would barely fill a cup.
Whenever this man visited a particular village for ministration, people would bring out their dead, and the dead would literally rise within three to seven days before his arrival!
However, this man’s voice was silenced from reaching the next generation because of sin. The devil struck his jugular — and he fell into the cold arms of Jezebel. That’s why nobody ever heard of him again.
Condemnation:
Self-condemnation is one of the enemy’s most effective weapons. It is a silent form of self-destruction — an act of inflicting blame, guilt, and accusation upon yourself even before God does.
But hear me, God does not condemn any man, because there’s nothing left to condemn. Jesus has already taken our sin, our guilt, our condemnation, and our infirmities — and nailed them to the Cross.
We have nothing left to bear.
That addiction, that struggle, that fall — the devil inflicted it on you. It’s not yours and never your cross to carry. So why condemn yourself every day and stay far from His presence?
“But He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him,
and by His wounds, we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5 (NIV)
My heart goes out to anyone out there still feeling condemned or haunted by the past.
Jesus loves you. And sincerely — He wants you back… Continue reading
