Episode 06: Spotting the Enemy’s Move: Don’t Face Spiritual Battle Alone
In episode six of the FOUND & REFINED podcast, host Amy LeSage opens up about spiritual battles, focusing on the struggle with negative self-talk, and the relentless thought spirals instigated by the enemy. She discusses how seeking self-worth through God’s love—not material possessions—is key to breaking free from these mental traps. Amy emphasizes the power of prayer, study of the Book of John, and turning to God for strength when battling persistent negative thoughts. Tune in as she sheds light on recognizing and defeating the enemy’s manipulations, and discover how to find lasting peace and guidance through faith.
Subscribe to FOUND & REFINED for more inspiring stories about faith, resilience, and determination to overcome.
00:00 Introduction
01:04 The Ongoing Battle and Spiritual Warfare
04:50 Personal Struggles
07:26 The Importance of Inner Worth
10:07 Turning to God in Times of Trouble
13:20 The Power of Prayer and God's Guidance
16:06 Recognizing and Resisting Negative Thoughts
24:41 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
—-
🎵 Check out these songs
➺ “Get Behind Me” Emerson Day
➺ “God’s Got My Back” Forest Frank
➺ “You Can’t Stop Me” Andy Mineo
. ➺ “Seven” Brandon Lake
—
Want to hear more?
WATCH Full episodes of FOUND & REFINED life reVISIONing Podcast here on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqtUDrwdRETLyCfq3RAXdqJabFS2iX1d
LISTEN to FOUND & REFINED life reVISIONing Podcast while you’re on-the-go!
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/found-refined-life-revisioning/id1818625876
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ilohurQEXLPOh5hX1jH6z?si=3912446a6ffd42fa
(Also, available wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts)
—
Subscribe to the Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@foundandrefined
—
Follow me here:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foundandrefined1
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FoundandRefined1
TRANSCRIPT - Ep. 06
Hey guys, my name's Amy LeSage and welcome to the FOUND & REFINED podcast. We are on episode six, which I'm just happy that I got past the four episodes, stigma that most people get caught up there and they just kind of trail off. So, like my goal was, you better hit it! Get to four - and surpass it - because you're not giving up. You already started the footsteps and walking the way that God's telling you to walk, don't turn back. And so here we are, episode six. It's small potatoes, but it's kind of a big deal to me that we're here. And I'm gonna keep pushing through because I feel like God has a message for everybody through, um, the things that I feel I've heard the spirit tell me and through my own personal situations that have been going on.
It kinda hit me yesterday, as things are just in disarray again. Um, the enemy's just fighting me, still. I mean, if anyone were to ask, like, where have you been for the past two years? My answer to them would be, I've been in a battle.
I've been fighting and the fight isn't letting up the more I'm walking into this path and this journey. Um, the fight's not letting up. Which just tells me that the devil really doesn't want the curtain to be pulled and to be exposed - the way that I've found and I've seen the devil working. And what I feel God is wanting to get through to anybody who's struggling with self-worth and with finding love and worth in the right places.
It's really clear he doesn't want this message to be shared. Um, But God does. And so that's who I'm listening to. I feel like yesterday God just made it so clear that I need to like really hit the ground running. No more timidness, no more discomfort. No more self-conscious. Like I haven't done this, and I don't know what I'm doing. It's clear I don't. It's Skippy, it's glitchy, it's choppy. But those things hopefully I'll figure out on the way, or you'll get used to... somewhere in there it's all gonna work out. Um, but I'm done worrying about that stuff and we just need to get going.
I printed off all of my notes that he's given me, over the past two years. Pretty much. We're gonna be hitting two years in August, since this journey started, and I'm not even kidding you, like the notes are like, it's like this many like.
Stacked. I was like, holy cow. some of them are just little bits. Some of them are pages, like he's just been throwing stuff at me to give to you. To give to myself, honestly, to give to myself first, to teach me first, which I've been learning.
Jesus was a teacher when he was here. God never has stopped teaching. He is still teaching to this day. He's teaching, He's speaking, he's guiding people. That didn't stop when Jesus went and ascended into heaven.
That's still happening today. He's teaching me things all the time. Um, don’t let that be lost on you. That's a big deal. That's a really big deal that He's still talking to us and wanting to communicate with us and wanting to teach us and guide us. That's a big deal.
So, you guys know a lot of my past and, you've been filled in on that level, up to the point of where this journey kind of begins. After I, asked for his help, he started pouring information into my head. Like I said, I would have to pull over and. Um, write it down because I knew I wasn't gonna remember it and I knew it wasn't my own thought. If it was my own thought, I would have it saved in my memory.
But this was coming from an outside source, from an out inside source, from the spirit, but it wasn't my words, it wasn't my thought. So, I wrote all of these things down and I've been continuing to write all of these things down. And that's what these pages are. I've never printed it off. It's always been this overwhelming task to know that I've gotta actually go through all of that. It's, there's a lot there. so yeah, I buckled down and did that but as for today I found a post, in my notes. I went to the first one and this is where God is really trying to get to my soul. At that time in life, I was seeking my worth and confirmation of love, I was seeking that from outside sources. I was seeking that from my relationships, from the people around me and through things, clothing specifically. I've always loved fashion. I've always loved clothing. And, I let that define my worth in a really bad way.
I knew I had a problem. I knew I had a problem because I would, it would be like a hit when it came to like fashion and buying things, that was a hard thing to be like, this is serving you wrong. But it was, and all signs were pointing to that. And I, it was obvious that I didn't have control over it because I didn't have the finances to be purchasing the things that I would purchase, and I was purchasing them for the wrong reasons.
Um. This became an addiction. I would have like three of the same things. I would have five of the same things. It was like I needed the newest version. I needed something that moment, because knowing that I was getting something new gave me like a hit of, of adrenaline and excitement, and I was getting all the wrong things from it.
And I'll get into that more later, but that's the addiction part. I feel like people were probably, like you said, addiction, like what type of addiction? It wasn't just like, oh, I, I had an addiction to buying things and I like to buy things.
No, it got me in a lot of trouble. It got me in a lot of trouble. Um, financially it got me in a lot of trouble. It took precedence over things that should have been way more important, and I'll leave it at that for right now. But, um, it was an addiction, and it was something that I had to be broken. But in order for that to be broken, something else needed to take its place because it was holding a firm place in my worth. My clothing and people were holding a firm place in how I felt about myself and my worth. And that sounds silly, but it's real.
Um, so back to my notes. One of the first things that came to me as I was driving, and I remember this 'cause I was like, whoa, this is like the most random thought. Where did this come from? And then I was like, oh my gosh. I was like, not stopping. Like I need to write this down.
Um, so I'm just gonna read this to you because that's how it came in and that's how I feel like it's supposed to be said. So, it’s not what's on the outside that matters. We focus on things we can see wealth, clothing, possessions, words people say to portray they are one way. Similarly in the Bible, how the religious leaders spoke about the rules and the rich wouldn't help the poor because they were lesser than. We place so much importance to what we can see, but it's the unseen that matters most. It's what is on the inside that matters more than anything that exists or is portrayed on the outside.
There are a lot of us that are lost in this way, and that's hard to hear and say because it hits home for me. But Satan has us exactly where he wants us. It's the backend things where he gets us without even noticing. It's as simple as how you feel when you're on social media and the envy or wishing you had something that you can't afford.
It's as simple as judging someone who has a sign on the corner of the street. It's as simple as driving by a huge, beautiful home or envy the cars you're driving around that you don't have. And here's the sneakiest part that Satan just loves to assist us with. What's important to us has a tendency to keep moving up, up, up, up to where it becomes our main focus of how we wanna live and surpasses your relationship with God.
It happens so quickly and so easily that if you aren't keeping yourself in check, and I speak from experience. We are listening and watching the world, and we really need to get back to listening and placing all importance on God and what Jesus tells us is most important.
So, I'm starting to read the Bible. I've never been great at reading. I'm more of a podcast or film kind of a person. It's my ADHD kicking in there. But if I was gonna take this journey with him, I wanna know him better for myself. The best way to do that is through the Bible. So, I started reading John. If you haven't spent time in the Book of John, you really should, especially with the kind of the guide that I'm taking here and how God's guided me.
It has to start with like like love, the love that Jesus has for us. And I am gonna continue. None of the outside material things matter. This was such a big point. None of it matters. None of it. It makes us feel good, but it does nothing. As a Christian, it does nothing for you. It really doesn't unless you're giving and helping and serving others with what you have. What you have on its own means nothing to God. It doesn't hold value to him.
Be careful when you're feeling down, sad, lonely, depressed, disappointed, defeated, exhausted, beat down, envious. When you're feeling bad for yourself, there is without a doubt, Satan fighting to get his way to your ear in order to speak into the negativity. The longer he can keep you there, the more he can turn those thoughts into something else.
It's his goal. Don't be fooled who is speaking into your mind when you're stuck in a dark place. Don't be fooled who is controlling and morphing your thoughts. I know this too well. I've been there and Satan has managed to have a field day on my worth, on my value, on my perception. It wasn't because I openly went to him.
I believe it wasn't because I knew he was even there. Don't be fooled that if you're a Christian and say you believe in God and trust that Jesus died, that the devil isn't fighting every second to sway your attention somewhere else. To confuse you with your own thoughts. That's how he works. And when you're at a weak point, physically, mentally, or both, he can't wait to challenge you.
He's just waiting. Don't be fooled by this.
I'm reading the Bible and I'm learning so much and I've heard this time and time again, but the other day, oops, sorry, but the other day it hit me in this conversation with what I'm saying. The devil came to Jesus when he was at his weakest point. Starving hadn't eaten in 40 days. He was in the wilderness. He, I'm sure. I'm sure he was mentally and physically exhausted and he tempted him, and he challenged him. I don't think the Bible could be more clear in warning us.
Satan comes for you when you are at your weakest points. He turns real situations against you. He pressures you over and over until you tell him to leave.
If you're anything like me, you aren't prepared for this. You're down, you're upset, you're having real feelings. But where we need to remember to go right away in those moments is straight to God. I can't tell you how much I pray in one day for him to help me, heal me, protect me, be with me, give me peace.
Don't get it twisted that I'm trying to point out how holy I am. No, that's to point out how much I sin, how much I'm tempted, and have become in the habit of letting my emotions take over, which in turn left me vulnerable, which allowed Satan to speak nasty thoughts into my head, which I then, which I then believed to be truths. At that time. And I've experienced firsthand the havoc he's wreaked on so many parts of my life just by speaking into one negative thought, which turned into another and another.
I hope I'm getting this point across of how easily accessible our minds become to the enemy when we aren't aware or when we are at a point of complete exhaustion. It's real. It's real. We can't get away from it. But what we can do is recognize it and immediately turn to God, which means pray out loud in your car, in your head, with your eyes open, with them closed on your knees, with your hands lifted, folded, cupped...however you wanna talk to him, it doesn't matter.
Just talk to him. tell him you're frustrated. Ask him for help. When something goes right, thank him. When something goes wrong, cry out to him. Ask him for healing. Ask him to take away the pain. Ask him to help with patience. I'll do that out loud with my kids in the car because they need to know.
We need to retrain our brain during these times so that we are calling the right one to speak into our ear so that we are dismissing the devil and all of his racket. And we are calling the right person, our God, to speak into our ear at those times. It's so important. It's so, so, so, so, so important! The healer, the Lord of Lords ...it's crazy how many other things and people I allowed to speak into my thoughts over God. How many things are you allowing to speak to you and affect how you feel and think? Social media, the news people around you? The world's views? It's overwhelming. It's coming in at rapid speed. I seriously think the devil is just having us Is The devil just has us all. I seriously think the devil just has us all spinning right now.
It reminds me of that game, you know, that we all played as a kid or an adult at a party. When you get spun around like 10 times, like on a, you know, sometimes you'll put like a bat on your head, and you just go around and around and around. And then you have to get yourself to the designated place. And find the target in front of you. We are all over the place with where we are hitting.
That's how it is when Satan is in control, and that's by design. He wants us to be stumbling around. He wants us to not know which way to turn. He wants us to not know where the target is to follow God or to do the right thing, or to think the right thing. He wants us confused walking around like crazy people with a blindfold on or something in front of us, keeping us from seeing the truth. He wants that and it's so easy for him to get that if we're not in tune with how he's manipulating our thoughts. It's real. There is a spiritual battle going on daily for you, for your life, for your thoughts, for the way that you are, and behave and react and talk and think. There is a spiritual battle. That's a fact. I know it. I've been in it, I've seen it. There is a real spiritual battle happening for you, and we have to take part in it. We have to start realizing that doesn't feel right. If it's negative stuff, it's done. That's not coming from God. I'm not gonna listen to that.
I'm gonna actually tell that thought and, I'm gonna tell the devil to get out in the name of Jesus. Get out! the only thing I wanna hear in my ear is God's voice. That's it. The quicker you can catch that, the quicker you can get yourself back on the right path. But you gotta start recognizing it.
It is happening all the time to everyone.
We live in a sinful world. That's not gonna change. We can't change that, but we can change ourselves. We can change how we perceive things, how we wanna live our lives, how we wanna take on the time that we have here on Earth. We can change that.
When your brain starts thinking negative thoughts and swirling around about how horrible you are, or what, what a mess up, or that person doesn't care about me because X, Y, and Z or that happened because of I'm, I'm this and I'm that. All these negative things, right?
That's not God speaking to you. That's not how he would speak to you.
You need to take that as a bright red flag and take it seriously because the more you allow it in and the more you continue to play that record over and over and over, it will burn a thought process into your head a belief.
The deeper that that crevice gets, the harder sometimes it can be to get rid of it. It, like I said before, it takes God once you hit a certain point, it takes God. It takes really understanding your worth through him, through his love for you, through his eyes. When you see those red flags or when you feel those red flags, you need to turn to God for help and guidance, immediately. He doesn't let you go stumble on your own towards the target. He first wraps his arms around you to stabilize you, and then he takes your hand, and he walks with you, guiding you to your target. If you start to lose your footing as you're walking there, because you will, because temptation is everywhere, immediately reach for him again and he will be there to catch you and straighten you out. He promises that. I count on that.
He's done that for me.
But where we are missing the mark is that we aren't asking him to lead us. We aren't reaching for him when we fall. We aren't calling for him when we're lost. He's always there. Always. What we need to check is ourselves.
Be honest with yourself. Who do you reach to when times get tough? Where do you go when things are hard? Where do you go when you're on a spiral in your head of negativity? Where do you go? What do you do to make yourself feel better? For me, I bought things. To make me feel better, even at the risk of not being able to pay a bill. Even with knowing that.
Who are you allowing to speak into your heart and mind? Who are you stopping? Are you stopping the thoughts? Are you recognizing that they're negative thoughts in your head? Do you not know what to do with them? I didn't. I just thought that was who I was. I just, I just believed them. Where are you more comfortable turning to the negative side or do you wanna make a change? Are you asking for guidance?
It's hard to think, especially as a Christian, that you may be allowing, not purposefully, but allowing the enemy to speak to you only because you're not seeking the Lord, only because you're not seeking God in times of trouble. Satan is aggressively elbowing and pushing his way in to get to you even little bits at a time. The more he spins you, the harder it is to hit the target, and that target is the life God intended for you to live. Start challenging your thought patterns. See what happens when you begin to train your mind and ask for God's guidance by going straight to him openly and honestly. See what happens in your life.
If you are deep into negative self-talk or worth or patterns, that it takes a conscious effort to do this first. Don't be surprised if temptation starts coming out of left field or triggers that haven't been pushed in years and years, decades that start coming to surface. That's the devil fighting for you to not make a shift in your, in your mind, in your in your thought process. That's him fighting back. He doesn't wanna change, so you're gonna feel it. And with Jesus's help, you're gonna get through it. Don't ever forget that. And don't ever be afraid to yell that out over and over and over. I’m a child of God. Get out of my head, Satan, in the name of Jesus.
I know it sounds crazy, but sometimes I had to do it a lot at the beginning. I still do it all the time. But The Bible says if you tell Satan to leave in the name of the Lord, he will slink away. That doesn't mean forever. So be prepared for when he comes back and continue to lean on Jesus. I'm so thankful we have such a powerful God who has already defeated Satan and will gladly stand in front of us as our protection. But without calling on him and looking to him to stand between us and the enemy, we're left to his attack and spin on our lives. We don't have to fight. We have to call upon the Lord who has won the fight and put him first in front of us to guard and protect us. We have to do that over and over and over again because we are in a sinful world.
Listen, I truly believe if I can do it, you can do it. Life becomes so much simpler and peaceful when you have one place to turn one person God, to follow, one gauge to weigh all things against. It takes so much of the guesswork out of it. It's exhausting to keep up with the world. It's not exhausting to keep up with God. It's not. It's simple. He lays it out for us. He's got it all there in the Bible. He's got it all listed out of how we should live our lives. He talks to us. He communicates with us. We need to read and pray and communicate with him. All of that stuff I've learned, I've had to learn. This is real stuff. He sees people hurting. This isn't just me. If it were just me, he wouldn't have me doing this. He sees people hurting, which makes me really sad 'cause I know that pain. Or at least I know a part of it, or I know a version of it and I hate that that's happening to other people. I hate it.
I pray that this word gets through to you. I am not a theologian. I am not up here saying like, I've studied the Bible, I've studied all of these things. I'm not, I'm, I'm a sinner. I'm a regular person who's been through hard things, who's had some really big challenges. I've tried doing it on my own. I made a shift in my life to give God control, and after that, like I was immediately flung into like the ring. It was a battle. Not a battle against God, not a battle against him at all. It was a battle against Satan and his demons. That's what I felt like I was thrown in the ring with immediately. Like I was like, where am I (poof!)? Like, right off the bat, just hit. God's picking me up and teaching me and helping me and teaching me how to like put on the armor, get ready.
This is what's going on in the world. This is what you've been battling. This is what's gotten into your head. This is what's happened, and this is how it's happened, and this is how you fix it. And this is where you go from there. I've been in the boxing ring for years.
But I'm getting better and better and faster at putting on the armor of God almost immediately. The second I can just feel it coming. I'm in so tune with it. I'm so aware now I've done too much to get to this point. I'm counting on God to get me through it. I'm counting on God to defeat him over, and over, and over, and over again.
I'm counting on him to protect me, and he will, and he has, and he'll continue to and he promises to, but I'm doing my part too. We all gotta do our part. This is a cry out from God to say, this isn't how you're supposed to be feeling.
This isn't how you're supposed to be getting through life, feeling unworthy and feeling lesser than. It's not how I created you to feel. You're going to the wrong places. And this journey really started there.
There was so much work to doand I put in the time, and that's not to give myself like a big pat on my back, but I am proud of that. I put in the time and the effort and the fight so that I could learn, get up and learn. Then another thing would hit, and I would have to get up and learn from that. And what did I learn? What did I learn? What is he teaching me? What do I need to go through to rewrite, to make different? Where did I go wrong and how do I rewrite that with God? And he taught me. He's been teaching me.
But ultimately that's for you.
It makes me emotional because it's for you, because he loves you so much that he really wants you to know this and he really wants this to stop, and I know that he'll get this to whoever needs to hear it. I know that I, I'm so confident in that I know that even if it's one person, he'll get it to them.
If you're in, a negative space, there is a way out. There really is, and Jesus is that way. And really understanding his love for you is the first place you need to go, and that's what I had to realize. I'd gotten it all wrong somehow being a Christian and growing up in a Christian household and being surrounded by all of it, believing all of it, I missed a huge part and my dog's crying and I, I've got kids that need to be watched, so I'll come back to this later.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for putting in the time. Thank you for coming along on this journey. I really hope that you join me and I'll see you next time, bye.