The Playbook | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: The Playbook | Previous Challenge Entry
By Connie Sommers
03/05/26
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What is madness? How does it happen? Is it a slow, gradual descent, or is it a violent thrust, spiraling downward chaotically? For me, it was the latter. A sharpening sense of the demonic darkness that became more evident with every breath I took. Awareness about the schemes of evil which permeate addiction, brought about healing and an awakening in the Holy Spirit.

The darkness cannot exist in the light, and the light of Jesus outshines all shadow, lifting the veil of deception and repairing the carnage evil had released upon my conscience. Believing God exists is something anyone can say or claim to follow. Yet, when God brings you to a place of absolute surrender, the reality of the spiritual realm is overwhelming. So overwhelming, in fact, that one can only survive the reality of it by the Spirit of God Himself.

Sin separates us from God. By nature, sin is a treacherous slope of compromise, one we were not meant to partake of. Created from dust in the very image of God, our minds were not designed, nor equipped to withstand the deterioration of our spirit and soul, which occurs while living sinfully. It is a devious trap of the devil. A snare entangling us into an oblivion of shame, regret, and hopelessness. A sick-cycle carousel that dizzies the mind and sickens the soul into a stupor. The devil’s game is not just to get us to sin, his mastery is in the cause-and-effect trickery of elusive self-gratification.

Madness, delusions, strongholds, lies, and chains. This painted picture of shame and regret is the Rembrandt of Satan. An illusion of pride-filled grandeur keeps us paying to get back on the carousel and to choose the chains of falsehood spinning round. He never speaks of the non-existence of God; he just misrepresents the simplicity of following Him. Satan and his demon’s utter half-truths about salvation and propagate legalistic demands that God never placed upon the believer. Yet these lies bind us in tattered garments of unrepentance, arrogance, and fear. Money is not the root of all evil, for pride is the devil’s dark playground.

Falling into this deceptive contraption of pride constructed by the enemy, advertises pleasure and excitement. Belief in self above all things is a one-way collision course with death. Whether it be actual physical death from reckless living or the death of self that comes disguised as a gift from God, Satan has his grip on our belief system. His claws dig into our moral compass getting into our minds to believe we can do anything with pride elevating to God-like behavior. That nothing is off limits. Deteriorating the image of our creator our DNA was mirrored after. Separation ensues and the devil dances with our beliefs yet again when he flips us down into the bottomless pit of shame.

One of, if not the most, quoted verses in Scripture is John 3:16. For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that none should perish but have everlasting life. Followed by verse 3:17, which never makes it to the painted posters in football game stadiums. God did not send His son to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Jesus. The untouchable gift of God Satan cannot drape darkness over, nor claw into, nor bind in the depths of hell. Grace and mercy clothe the garments Jesus paid for us to wear if we simply believe in Him.

Repentance of sins and choosing to follow Jesus comes with faith in His death as a sinless man. His resurrection from the dead acknowledges the defeat of the grave, of death’s sting, for Jesus rises as King. In this faith, the Spirit of the Living God comes to dwell residing in our hearts, sanctifying us piece by piece and moment by moment. Satan cannot stop this process, only cause doubt to arise by reminding us of who we once were, dead in our transgressions.

But God.

God has given us nails to pierce the devil’s coffin. Handed us keys to his death and undoing. To drive despair away. To defeat the power of sin. Our weapon is the gift given by Jesus, from the Father, and guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. Every dark reminder He answers with the hammer of grace. Justified. Forgiven. Declared righteous because He is righteous. Jesus, our divine substitute, redeeming our reconciliation with God. Justified. Not guilty. Case dismissed. The accuser has no rights. Nailed.

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