The enemy has been trying desperately to intimidate you. Intimidation through means of fear, through means of overwhelm, through means of anxiety, even through thoughts of not wanting the very things God has been revealing to you.
Check yourself – how successful have his ploys of intimidation been? Have you been quietly giving up? Have you been gradually pulling away? Have you been shrinking, fading, losing ground?
Sis, what you have to understand is the enemy has only fear tactics and intimidation against you. His threats against you are powerless when you’re covered in the blood of Jesus. 1 John 5:18 tells us that we are held securely by God’s Son and “the evil one cannot touch us”. Do you hear that – HE CAN’T TOUCH YOU. If you have surrendered your life to Jesus you are not only saved by Jesus, but you’re also protected by Him.
My dog Tank is a big boy with a fierce bark. In his prime, he was 130 pounds, one of the biggest yellow labs you will ever see. He decides to bark on the very rare occasion when the UPS man seems threatening. And when he does, you notice. His bark sounds furious. But there’s no bite behind his bark. He’s nothing but slobbers and tail wags. He’s anything but a guard dog. A little yappy chihuahua will put him in the corner every time.
Sometimes it’s as if we’re walking through this life terrified of a bark that simply can’t bite us. Girl, listen to me – THE EVIL ONE CANNOT TOUCH YOU. We’re so quickly to give the devil credit for the attacks in life, but most often he’s not even the source. Is there a spiritual battle happening all around us? Absolutely! Are we protected? NO DOUBT!
As a sold-out follower of Jesus, you are a girl with Heaven on her side. Angels are in charge all around you. God has good plans for your life that cannot be cancelled. Every moment of your life is held in the mighty hands of your Creator. Why in the world would you be intimidated by an already defeated enemy? Why would you play little with your life? Why would you dismiss your God-breathed dreams and desires because the enemy is barking?
LET HIM BARK. Let him hate that you are no longer paralyzed in fear. Let him shake when your knees hit the floor each morning and you’re infused with the power of the Holy Spirit. Let him know that Hell lost another one. Show him you’re on a mission to rob Hell and make Heaven crowded!
Paul writes in Philippians 1:28, “Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself.”
DON’T BE INTIMIDATED.
And Scripture tells us exactly what to do when the enemy comes at us with intimidation. James 4:7, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Notice the order: Submit to God, resist the devil.
We don’t defeat the enemy by becoming obsessed with the enemy. We don’t spend all day looking for demons behind every difficult circumstance. We don’t have to live on high alert, wondering where the next attack is coming from. We fix our eyes on Jesus, submit ourselves to God, and when the enemy comes with lies, fear, temptation, accusation, or intimidation, we resist.
How do you resist? You refuse to agree with the lie.
When he says, “You can’t do this,” you remember, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” When he says, “You’re alone,” you remember, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” When he says, “You should be afraid,” you remember that God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.
You fight the lie with the truth.
That’s why knowing God’s Word matters so much. Jesus Himself responded to the enemy’s temptation with Scripture. He didn’t negotiate with Satan. He didn’t entertain the lie. He answered with the truth of God’s Word: “It is written.”
Girl, you need some “It is written” in your life!
When fear comes, you need to know what God has already said. When anxiety starts shouting, you need truth louder than the thoughts in your head. When intimidation tells you to back down, you need the Word of God reminding you who you are, whose you are, and who is with you.
Ephesians 6:10–11 says, “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
Did you catch that? TAKE YOUR STAND.
The goal isn’t that you never experience fear. The goal is that fear doesn’t get to move you. You may feel intimidated and still stand. You may feel anxious and still obey. You may feel overwhelmed and still take the next step. You may hear the bark and still keep walking.
That’s courage—not the absence of fear, but refusing to let fear become your master.
Your job isn’t to defeat Satan. Jesus has already defeated him. Your job is to remain surrendered to Jesus, stand firm in truth, resist the lies, and keep moving forward in obedience.
That’s what intimidation cannot stand against: a woman who knows who she is, knows whose she is, knows what God has said, and refuses to back down.
When you fear the enemy you give him hope and confidence in his schemes against you. If he sees his fear tactics against you are successful, he’ll double down to drag you into his darkness and keep you there. He’ll send his demons to attack your mind and discourage your heart. Is that what he’s been doing to you? Girl, are you going to let him have access to your heart and mind like that?
But let me tell you what happens when you’re NOT INTIMIDATED by him – he withdraws in defeat. Unlike God, Satan is limited. He does not hold all power. He cannot be everywhere at once. He cannot move heaven and earth. He is not unlimited. Therefore, he continually seeks the weak spot and attacks where his efforts are most effective. He zeros in on what is working. And honey, if his attacks haven’t been intimidating you, then he won’t waste his time continuing.
Today, you let the enemy of your soul know you will not live in fear of him. Shut down his fear tactics. Refuse his invitation to overwhelm. Stiff arm his offer of anxious thoughts. Deny his suggestions of no longer wanting everything God has for you. Don’t give him the satisfaction of intimidation.
Enemy, you’re wasting your time trying to keep me awake in worry. When my alarm rings, I’m still hitting my knees in prayer. I’m still showing up. I’m still giving God my best. That’s how you defeat him!
Satan, the anxious thoughts you try to offer me are straight up denied. You’re wasting your time with the attack on my mind. I know the truth, I stand in the truth, I speak the truth. You are powerless against God and I’m under His divine protection.
When spiritual enemies cannot intimidate you, they’ve lost all weapons because all they had was fear and intimidation. Now, you know how to disarm the enemy. Stop listening to him. Stop being influenced by him. Stop believing him.
You don’t have to argue with him. You don’t have to fight him in your own strength. You simply have to stand. Stand in truth. Stand in faith. Stand in the authority Jesus has given you. Stand your ground and keep moving forward.
Because here’s what intimidation is trying to do: it’s trying to make you smaller than your calling. It’s trying to convince you that the dream God whispered to you is too big, the assignment is too hard, the risk is too great, the people won’t understand, and you’re not capable of doing what God is asking you to do.
But God didn’t call you to live a small, safe, fear-controlled life.
So get back up, girl. Take back the ground you’ve surrendered. Start praying again. Start dreaming with God again. Start showing up again. Start saying YES to the things God has been putting on your heart. You don’t have to know exactly how it’s all going to work. You just have to be willing to take the next step.
The enemy can bark, but he cannot cancel what God has ordained.
He can make noise, but he cannot have the final word.
He can threaten, but he cannot separate you from the God who holds you.
So let him bark. You keep walking.
Let him make noise. You keep obeying.
Let him try to intimidate you. You keep becoming everything God created you to be.
Because, Sis, you are not walking into your future alone. You are walking with Jesus. And when Jesus is with you, fear doesn’t get to decide where you go.
The enemy’s bark is not your stop sign. It’s your reminder to keep moving forward.
DON’T BE INTIMIDATED. Don’t shrink. Don’t retreat. Don’t quit.
Stand up. Stand firm. And LIVE BIG.
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