Why Christians Still Struggle

Here's a question that makes some people uncomfortable: Can Christians be influenced by demonic spirits?

The answer is obvious when you look at reality. If Christians couldn't be influenced by demonic spirits, then no believer would ever be sick, diseased, angry beyond righteous anger, or struggling with lust, addiction, depression, or gluttony.

But we all know that's not the reality we live in.

Every person on the face of the planet—believer or not—can be influenced by the enemy. But here's the good news: we all can be easily delivered.

The "Character Issue" That Isn't

I've talked with so many Christians who beat themselves up over issues they can't seem to overcome.

They try harder. They pray more. They read their Bible. They go to accountability groups. They commit to change, and they genuinely mean it. But the pattern keeps repeating.

Maybe it's anger that explodes seemingly out of nowhere. Maybe it's depression that settles over them like a fog. Maybe it's critical, judgmental thoughts toward others that they can't seem to stop. Maybe it's lust or addiction that keeps dragging them back no matter how hard they fight.

And they think: What's wrong with me? Why can't I just stop this? If I were really a good Christian, I'd have victory over this by now.

Here's what I want you to hear: If you've tried to work on character issues yourself and you couldn't—by an act of your own free will—create new patterns to help with those issues, it might not just be a character issue.

Stop beating yourself up about it.

It could very well be that you're having a spirit influence you.

There could be a spirit of infirmity. A spirit of lust. A spirit of anger. A spirit of unforgiveness (where you're always critical and judgmental). A spirit of addiction. A spirit of depression.

And you can't cast out a character flaw. You can't command your flesh to be delivered. But you CAN be delivered from spiritual influences that are affecting your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

How the Enemy Gets Legal Ground

Demons don't just randomly attach to people. They need legal ground—a hook, an entry point, something that gives them the right to be there.

That legal ground usually comes from:

1. Generational Issues

Sometimes spiritual influences are passed down through family lines. If alcoholism ran in your family, it's not just genetic—there's often a spiritual component. The same with depression, rage, sexual sin, poverty mindset, infirmity.

These generational patterns create what the Bible calls "the iniquity of the fathers" being visited on the children (Exodus 34:7, KJV). That doesn't mean God is punishing you for what your ancestors did. It means there are spiritual influences that flow through family lines until someone breaks them.

2. Our Own Wounds

Trauma creates openings. When we experience deep hurt—especially in childhood—we often believe lies about ourselves, about others, about God. We come into agreement with those lies. And that agreement gives the enemy legal ground.

Let's say a child is abused and believes: I must be bad. I must deserve this. There's something wrong with me. That child has just come into agreement with a lie. And the enemy can use that agreement as legal ground for a spirit of shame, unworthiness, or self-hatred.

3. Our Own Sin

Sometimes we open doors through our own choices. Unforgiveness is a big one. When we hold onto bitterness and refuse to forgive, we're essentially saying: I'd rather hold onto this poison than let it go. That gives the enemy a hook.

The same with rebellion, pride, sexual sin, occult involvement, or any pattern of sin we refuse to repent of.

The Good News About Legal Ground

Here's the beautiful thing: once we understand how the enemy got legal ground, we can remove that legal ground.

In inner healing, Holy Spirit shows us the entry point. He shows us what agreement we made, what lie we believed, what generational pattern we inherited, what sin we need to repent of.

Then we deal with it:

• If it's a lie we believed, we repent for believing it and come into agreement with truth

• If it's unforgiveness, we release forgiveness

• If it's generational, we break the curse and renounce the pattern

• If it's our own sin, we confess and repent

Once the legal ground is removed, we have authority to cast the spirit out. And it has to go.

This is why inner healing combined with deliverance is so powerful. We're not just trying to cast something out while the door is still open. We're closing the door first, removing the legal ground, then exercising our authority in Christ.

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7, NIV). Submission comes first. We align ourselves with God's truth. Then we resist, and the enemy has to flee.

The Addiction Cycle

Let me talk specifically about addiction, because this illustrates the principle so clearly.

If you struggle with addiction—whether it's alcohol, drugs, pornography, food, shopping, whatever—and all you're doing is trying to stop the behavior, you're fighting in the flesh.

You're trying to overcome by willpower. You're trying to white-knuckle your way to freedom. And sometimes that works for a while. But then the pain comes back, the trigger happens, the craving overwhelms you, and you're right back in the cycle.

Why? Because you're treating the symptom without addressing the root.

Addiction is always about trying to medicate pain. Always. You're not addicted because you're weak or because you lack willpower. You're addicted because something in you hurts, and the addictive behavior temporarily makes that pain go away.

Until you heal the original pain—until you address what created the wound in the first place—you're going to keep reaching for the medication.

Inner healing goes after that root pain. Maybe the pain started in your childhood. Maybe it came through your family line. Usually it's a combination.

If alcoholism ran in your family, we're going to deal with:

• The generational curse that needs to be broken

• The spirits of addiction that have legal ground through your family line

• Your own wounding that caused you to pick up alcohol as a coping mechanism in the first place

Once we heal the root, once we've addressed the original pain, changing the behavior becomes exponentially easier. When you're going through counseling or learning new patterns of thinking, those tools actually work now because you've dealt with what was sabotaging them.

You've removed the enemy's legal ground. You've healed the wound that was driving the addictive behavior. You've broken the generational pattern.

Now you can actually build new, healthy patterns that stick.

Root vs. Fruit

I think of it this way: most forms of therapy and counseling deal with the fruit—the behaviors, the symptoms, the patterns we can see.

And fruit-level work is important. We need to learn new ways of thinking. We need to develop new habits. We need to practice new behaviors.

But if you're only working at the fruit level while the root is still poisoned, you're going to keep producing bad fruit no matter how hard you try.

Inner healing goes after the root.

It isolates where the problem began. It exposes the lie that took root, the wound that opened the door, the generational pattern that's been flowing through your family line. It addresses the legal ground the enemy has been using.

Then, when you do the fruit-level work—counseling, accountability, new patterns—those tools are so much more effective because the root has been healed.

Think of it like trying to grow a healthy plant. You can prune it, water it, give it sunlight, fertilize it. But if the root is diseased, the plant will keep producing sick fruit. Heal the root, and suddenly all those other efforts actually produce health.

Layers of Deliverance

I want to be clear: deliverance isn't always a one-time event. There are layers.

You might experience freedom in one area and then discover another area that needs healing. That's okay. That's normal. That's part of the process.

Just like you wouldn't expect to heal every physical ailment in your body with one doctor's visit, you shouldn't expect every spiritual and emotional wound to be healed in one session.

But every layer of healing matters. Every spirit cast out matters. Every lie renounced matters. Every bit of legal ground removed matters.

You're not starting over each time. You're going deeper. You're dealing with the next layer. You're experiencing more freedom.

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free" (Galatians 5:1, NIV). This is a process of coming into the fullness of that freedom—not because Christ's work wasn't complete, but because we're complex beings with many layers that need healing.

Stop Fighting in the Flesh

If you've been beating yourself up, trying harder, feeling like a failure because you can't overcome something by sheer willpower—stop.

You're not weak. You're not a bad Christian. You're not lacking faith.

You're fighting a spiritual battle with natural weapons, and that's never going to work.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12, NIV).

If your struggle has a spiritual component—and if you can't overcome it through normal effort, it probably does—then you need spiritual weapons.

Inner healing and deliverance are those weapons. They address the root. They remove the enemy's legal ground. They break generational curses. They heal the wounds that opened the doors in the first place.

Then the fruit-level work—changing behaviors, developing new patterns, renewing your mind—actually becomes effective instead of an exhausting exercise in futility.

Nothing Is Too Big for the Lord

I don't care how long you've struggled. I don't care how many times you've failed. I don't care how deep the wound goes or how many generations back the curse began.

Nothing is too big for the Lord.

He specializes in going to the root. He knows exactly where the enemy got his hook in. He knows what agreements need to be broken, what lies need to be renounced, what legal ground needs to be removed.

And He has given you authority over the enemy.

"I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you" (Luke 10:19, NIV).

That authority is real. It works. But it works best when we align ourselves with God's truth first—when we remove the legal ground, close the doors, and then exercise that authority.

An Invitation to Freedom

If you're tired of struggling, tired of trying harder and failing again, tired of feeling like something is wrong with you that you can't fix—I want you to know there's hope.

You might not have a character problem. You might have an enemy problem. And there's a solution for that.

Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted and set the captives free (Luke 4:18, NIV). That's not just His mission—He assigned that mission to us as well.

We partner with Him to bring His Kingdom on earth. We partner with Him to help people get healed, whole, delivered, and set free.

Stop fighting in the flesh. Stop beating yourself up. Let Holy Spirit show you the root. Let Him remove the enemy's legal ground. Let Him set you free.

Welcome to God's Kingdom, where every chain can be broken, every curse can be reversed, and every wound can be healed—because nothing is too hard for the One who made you and loves you.

Blessings,
Susan 😊