Jealousy & Envy

Jealousy & Envy

 According to The Dake's annotated reference Bible, the spirit of jealousy is the work of a supernatural influence or a passion stirred up by the imagination. Jealousy, along with envy, is some of the oldest sins in the universe. They tend to play on one’s mind through thoughts and feelings of insecurity, causing a rivalry or fear of being replaced.

As children of God, we need to rest in our own stories by being content. We must understand that God created everyone for a unique purpose, growing them for a specific position in His body. Many see others have found their place and are flourishing in their callings and comparing themselves to others. Some become so focused on someone else's achievements or spiritual growth that they lose sight of what God is doing in their own life. The devil loves this scenario because it gives him access to bring a spirit of deception via jealousy and envy. Jealousy is a stronghold that breeds: envy,  anger, hatred, bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, arguments, retaliation, grudges, spitefulness, gossip/slander, betrayal, suspicions, unChrist-like competition, critical, judgmental jealousy, and even murder. 

One example of the strongman of jealousy in operation was in Genesis 4:3-7 in the account of brothers Cain and Abel. Cain was jealous of Abel’s favor with God. Cain felt humiliated, having experienced the rejection of his offering by God, in turn becoming overwhelmed with hatred and killing his brother Abel. 

                                    

“Cain talked with Abel, his brother [about what God had said]. And when they were [alone, working] in the field, Cain [d]attacked Abel, his brother, and killed him.”- Genesis 4:8

We as children of God have to understand who we are and the authority given to us by God that we carry  (Romans 8:17). We also need to learn to discern who our enemy is and who we are really fighting against (Ephesians 6:10-19). Your enemy is not your spouse that offended you yesterday, nor your co-worker who spreads vicious lies in the office about you. There is someone behind the problem, and his name is Satan! His goal has been to pervert and twists the gifts of God by operating through members of the human race who cooperate with him. 

Satan loves to use jealousy and envy as a trap because it robs us of our identity [which should be found in Christ]. Jealousy causes you to be so focused on PEOPLE rather than God. So if he can get us to become so focused on others' blessings, successes, or positions, it will ultimately hinder us from growing into the calling and position that God has designed for us. This is not just personal; Satan hates God! 1 Corinthians 12:12-19, illustrates how the body of Christ is to function. However, if Satan can divert any member from their designated roles, he would destroy the body as a whole.

God wants you to accept yourself as His child and walk in confidence in Him and His Holy Spirit. God loves you, right where you are! Let the Lord develop in you a teachable spirit, with a heart ready and willing to serve and obey Him. Embrace the peace of God with the assurance that you are enough! Rest and trust that He is doing great work in you and that He shall perfect and complete what he started in you, (Philippians 1:6).

This spirit seeks to separate you from God and others. It blindly drives us from the course that has been set for our lives to another that was never intended. Many things have attached themselves to us generationally that we do not like. They may be flaws, habits, or behaviors, and we develop a dislike for them and, for many, hatred for themselves. We may see others who are free from these very things and begin to desire to be just like them. Resulting in dysfunctional admiration and displaced attention from God.

We have to allow the Lord to strip us of everything that is not of Him. We should want to be just like God. Jealousy and envy can not be overcome by trying to be another person, by good behavior or performance. Wanting desperately to be or have what another has is NOT right! You do not know what that person had to endure to become the person you are jealous of. YOU do not know the struggles of their heart or the challenges they still face because they make it look easy. You do not know the sickness almost unto death they passed through or the self-hatred they subjected themselves to but yet YOU think you have the right to be jealous and envious of what appears to be the finished work. 

Storytime:

Throughout the years, I've been confronted by this spirit many times. There was a particular time when the Lord showed me the spirit of jealousy operating through a dear friend of mine. The Lord explained that this “friend” was lost and searching aimlessly for their identity and individuality due to different traumatic events that had taken place in their life. He revealed that they loved me (the way they knew how) though it was dysfunctional.*(In some cases, the person possessed or influenced by this spirit doesn’t hate you but rather hates themselves). God explained the situation to me as “ when admiration goes wrong”; that's when someone admires you so much that it becomes misplaced. God instructed me to cover them in prayer and not expose them physically (through confrontation) “ for love covers a multitude of sins”-1 Peter 4:8. Rather God instructed me to expose the spirit (spiritually) through warfare prayers. In my case, God allowed this as a teaching moment, as a lesson about jealousy & envy. He taught me that when this spirit manifests through the cooperating party towards the recipient, it releases demonic attacks in different areas to whom it’s directed. While this spirit was operating through this friend, it projected demonic attacks on my career, finances, marriage, and even my health. The goal of this attack was to destroy the friendship that God had ordained for kingdom purposes. It wanted to bring a spirit of discouragement to hinder the will and progress of God in both of our lives. The Lord intervened after much prayer and fasting and began dealing in the heart of that friend, bringing them to a place of self-awareness through a continuous process of deliverance. They are now on a wonderful journey of self-discovery, and mental, emotional, and spiritual healing. All Glory To God!

*My point in sharing that testimony was to expose the devil and his tricks and how he succeeds many times in destroying God's blessings in our lives, using the diabolic spirit of jealousy!*

It's Time To Make A Change:

There is so much more that could be mentioned about these foul spirits because it runs so deep. I want to extend the opportunity for repentance if you’ve allowed yourself at any time to be overtaken by these demonic spirits. Maybe you were unaware these things were operating through you, but God is waiting with open arms of forgiveness to mend every brokenness hidden within you. If you have been on the receiving end of jealousy and envy, let us also pray that God would heal and restore you from the hurt of its effects. It’s painful for those who are on the receiving end of these attacks. Before we pray, let us bleed the blood of Jesus over ourselves and ask for forgiveness of our sins. Let us also put on the full armor of God according to Ephesians 6:10-19. Once you’ve done that, let us pray:

➛Father God, in the name of Jesus, we thank you because we know that you are God and nothing is too hard for you. You can assess our beginning and our end because you made us. So father, today, we pray that you would forgive us for harboring jealousy or envy toward one another. We acknowledge our sins, and we ask that you forgive us and wash us in the precious blood of Jesus. Create in us a clean heart and renew in us a right spirit. 

According to Luke 10:19, you said you have given me the authority to tread on serpents and scorpions  [the ability to exercise authority] over all the power of the enemy (Satan). Nothing shall by any means harm me, so In the name of Jesus Christ I come against the spirit of jealousy in the name of Jesus, I bind you up according to Matthew 18:18 which says “ whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” so I bind the spirit of jealousy in the name of Jesus and cast it out of me. I lose the perfect love of God that casts out all fear.

Lord uproot in Jesus' name every root of rejection, bitterness, insecurity, inferiority complex, low self-esteem, and self-hatred right now in Jesus' name. Remove them & disconnect them from me by the power in the blood of Jesus Christ. Father, help me discover who I am (my identity & purpose) in you help me know my calling, destiny, and star (Ephesians 1:18). Lead me on the best path for my life so I will not desire the life and calling. Help me to be authentic and release an atmosphere of peaceful contentment and grace in my life to live a life as unto God in Jesus' name -Amen.

Lord, I ask you to help me to forgive any persons who exercised jealousy and envy against me. You said in your word if I do not forgive, I will not be forgiven. So I make a choice to forgive them in Jesus's name. “According to Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood(not only people but demonic spirits), 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.” So in the name of Jesus, I bind up every demonic projection of jealousy, I rebuke every demonic arrow of pain, confusion, sickness, chaos, loss, a misfortune that was projected against my life, my children, my spouse, my family, or any others areas in my life that were affected in the name of Jesus. I bind those attacks, and I cast them out of my life in the name of Jesus, and I lose God's divine healing, peace, love, and restoration. Restore everything that was either disrupted, distorted, or destroyed in my life in the name of Jesus. Lord, remove every discouragement that would try to become embedded in me or the life of the one being used against me. Lord, I thank you for shielding me from the hatred of this world, in Jesus 'name -Amen.

We Bind all backlash and retaliation from the enemy and his cohorts against me or this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, let every retaliation attack fail now and let every demon released from its assignment become a part of Jesus’s footstool according to Psalm 110:1, which is under our feet because we are joint-heirs with Christ in heaven in Jesus Name-Amen.

 Stay Blessed!

--Sierra Cookson