How to Defeat the Enemy in the Workplace

Lately, several of my friends have been undergoing some serious battles on their jobs.  I, too, have recently had to side step a few carefully aimed daggers myself.  Have you ever been on the receiving end of jealous colleagues, double minded clients, egomaniacs or insane supervisors.  If so, get in line!  Fact is every job has change and challenges. Satan will, however, try to turn these certainties into attacks against us.

Our workplace is the perfect playground for his devious antics because he knows how much we depend on our paychecks. To make matters worse, many Believers unknowingly help add fuel to the fire by having very little faith and almost no peace. Just like a snake that can crawl through a crack, satan will use this to his advantage and slither in causing stress, strife and strain.  However, Beloved, may I share something with you that has taken me 42-years of life to learn? The devil does not have to win.  As Children of the Most High God, we can defeat him and his agents in our workplace!   How so, you might ask?  Prayerfully, I’m about to show you how.

Step 1:  Use your Manual of Deliverance.  The Word of God is the blue print to defeat the enemy, no matter where we work or whom we work with from day-to-day.  Psalm 107:6 NIV tells us, “Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, He delivered them out of their distresses.” I don’t care how that Director tries to undermine your work, use the Armor of God and “fight dark principalities in high places.”

Step 2:  Plead the Blood of Jesus over your job every morning.  Revelation 12:11a NIV assures us, “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” Rest assure the “him” that was defeated is the evil doer.  Just like the Blood of Christ won battles then, it will make us conquerors today.  Get up an extra hour earlier each morning so you can pray and plead the Blood of Jesus over yourself, your workstation and relationships in your profession.  If your manager is the problem, then plead the Blood of Jesus over both of you.  BUT… I’m not the problem, he or she is!  You might, argue. Beloved, satan can use anyone to attack your joy, even your manager. Nonetheless, we sometimes aid him by being easily offended. If a person doesn’t say thank you, we’re offended.   If some ladies go to lunch without asking us to join them…you guessed it, we get offended!  So what if someone doesn’t say, “I appreciate you,” or hangs out as a group after work without us.  Are we working onto the Lord or for the approval of man?  Now hear me out, I’m not saying we have to be a doormat to anyone!  But as Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”  Never hand your power over to a mortal man or woman.

Step 3:  Use Your Faith and Ask for Wisdom.  Remind yourself that God is still on the Throne.  Don’t just say, “No Weapon Formed Against Me Shall Prosper”…believe it!  Speak this affirmation every hour at 8 AM, 9 AM, 10 AM, etc.  Say it until you fully understand the power of this promise.  1 John 5:4 says, “For whatsoever is born of God over cometh the world: and this is the victory that over cometh the world, even our faith.”   Secondly, diligently seek wisdom from the Holy Spirit by studying and meditating on the Holy Word.

Step 4:  Start A Daily Journal.  List your most frustrating and hurtful feelings.  Here’s the part I want you to get though.  At the end of each entry, write out an encouraging scripture.  Say the passage out loud. Repeat it three times for the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  Why? God’s Word is always bigger than our circumstances.    Therefore, take about 10 to 15 minutes to meditate on the authority of what you’ve just declared and decreed.  Then, praise God for your forthcoming deliverance from the situation.

Step 5:  Beware of the Dog that Brings You A Bone.  This is one of my mother’s favorite sayings.  And you know what, she’s right.  It’s one thing for our favorite pooch to offer us a bone out of love and devotion.  It’s something else entirely different when a human in the workplace does it.   Ask yourself, “Why is this person really telling me this or asking me these questions?”   For a lot of people, confidentiality is just a word they know how to pronounce.  Proverbs 12:17 NIV warns us, “An honest witness tells the truth, but a false witness tells lies.”  Take it from me once you share your true thoughts about someone,  you can never regrettably take them back.  Furthermore, people may accept your apology but may never forget what you said.  If I had a dime for every time I should have kept my mouth shut, I would be able to buy you and me a retirement home.  What I’m now learning is that, if you don’t say it, you don’t have to regret it.  Most importantly, no one can use it against you!   Proverbs 21:23 says, “Whosoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles.”

Step 6:  Get Some Rest.  What does rest have to do with fighting the enemy…everything!   I don’t know about you but I can always handle things much better when I’m rested.  Author Mark Buchanan once said, “Most of the things we need to be most fully alive never come in busyness. They grow in rest.” Rest allows us to settle our mind and balance the pressures of life.  In this way, no one thing is more overwhelming than the other.   Hence, rest enables us to react with wisdom instead of embarrassing emotion.

Step 7:  Pray Without Ceasing While Doing Your Part. Yes, prayer changes things but if our attitude is not in order, we won’t prosper.  Just because someone upsets us, does not give us the excuse to call in sick every other month, or half do an assignment.  The Lord will not bless our mess.  He expects us to remain professional even when under attack.  In this way, God can win the battle on our behalf because we humbly continued to do our best.  James 4:17 NIV says, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”

All in all, none of us are exempt from the attacks of the enemy on our jobs.  It’s our choice though on how we choose to handle them.  We can either do things our way, which will guarantee our defeat.  Or, we can stand and triumph over our enemies; clothed in peace and crowned as victorious, Royal Daughters of Jesus Christ.