“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
—John 10:0 (NIV)

When the Enemy Comes to Steal

Spiritual warfare doesn’t always look like dramatic possessions or eerie encounters. Sometimes, it looks like confusion. Like people you love suddenly turning against you. Like everything that should go right somehow unraveling into chaos.

That was our story.

This post is part two of what I call the Promised House Project. It’s raw, it’s honest, and it’s full of the kind of warfare no one warned me about—because no one ever told me it was warfare in the first place. But it’s also a story about how God restores, how He repays, and how He transforms even the most painful places into testimonies of hope.

If you’ve ever wondered how the devil fights, how he uses subtle tactics to destroy relationships, dreams, and peace—this is for you.

A Seemingly Simple Start

We shared our plans with some family members. They offered to help us with a down payment, and at the time, that felt like a blessing. What I didn’t realize was that this offer came with strings—tight ones.

They tried to steer us toward condos and communities with HOAs we didn’t want. There were comments made that, looking back, I now recognize as major red flags. But we were young. We were hopeful. And we trusted them.

Eventually, we found a home we loved. The first one fell through, but we found a twin with a few upgrades. It was a short sale, meaning it would take time. We were okay with that.

Then the questions started. The family members didn’t like the interest rate we were approved for. They asked their banker to run the numbers with them as cosigners. I had a bad feeling. But Brian reassured me, and I let it go.

Red Flags and Broken Promises

Months passed. The townhouse we were renting went into foreclosure, so we had to leave. We moved in with the family members who were helping us with the house.

Then, one day, I saw a Facebook post from my husband saying they were closing on the house. Confused, I called him (just as he attempted to call me). He said that they were handling everything at his family member’s office. It didn’t feel right, but again, I pushed it down.

We were told we couldn’t be on the mortgage, but we could still live there. We agreed to pay them monthly, and they even created a spreadsheet on their computer to track our payments. It felt humiliating. But what could we do? He worked for them. And it was the only home we could afford in the moment.

A few months later, in a moment of anger during an argument, one of them shouted at my husband that they had pulled from their eTrade account and paid cash for the home. My husband was livid. I talked him down. They reassured us they weren’t going to charge interest, just have us pay back what they spent. We weren’t happy, but it seemed like the best we could do, given our situation.

The Storm Behind the Scenes

Fast forward to 2013. My husband and I were asked to revive a youth ministry at church that had completely dwindled. We said yes and jumped in wholeheartedly.

Almost immediately, everything else started to fall apart.

My husband’s family member had a medical emergency that kept him hospitalized for over a year. His wife was overwhelmed and asked my husband to act as this family member’s patient advocate, since he was now out of work. She said she couldn’t afford to pay him in cash, as they were being forced to sell their business, but that they would give us credit for our monthly mortgage payment in compensation. So 6-7 days a week, my husband was either at the hospital or doing something to help.

In the meantime, we were able to grow the non-existent youth department at our church from no kids to 5 core members who came every Sunday and Wednesday they had rides, and an additional 4 kids who would come infrequently. Even though we had no budget from the church, we were able to fund events, prizes, and materials from our own money.

Then an unexpected financial blessing came: a long-forgotten workers’ comp case was settled. We had a plan for most of that money. Pay off all debt, buy the house outright, replace our old (and broken down vehicles, replace the major appliances in the house, replace TVs and other things around the house in need of replacement. We’d use the money leftover to take our honeymoon (nine years late), and remodel both bathrooms. The rest would go into savings.

We sat down and tried to come up with a reasonable offer for the house. We knew what they bought the house for, what our payments would have added up to (if accounted for properly), and came up with a low offer to begin the negotiation. By this time, the husband was back home and seemingly in as good of health as he could be in given his state. The family members took a day or so and agreed to that amount. And once we received the settlement, we wrote them a check.

They cashed the check. But they never handed us a deed.

Then came the demand for $25,000 more. Then came the threats.

Still, we paid it.

They cashed the check and again promised paperwork. And again—nothing.

During this, due to spiritual abuse, we left the church I’d attended since birth and found a new one. This church seemed well-established and helped us in many ways. We even got involved with their student ministry, organized two week-long camps out-of-town, and even led it for a while.

Lawsuits and Lies

When we finally started exploring legal options with the family members over our house, their personal lives fell apart. Divorce. Hospitalizations. More manipulation.

We ended up in court a year later. For three years, we battled a lawsuit we didn’t ask for, trying to claim ownership of the house we had paid for in full. We couldn’t get either of their cooperation. Fees stacked up. The pain was unbearable.

This second church was forced to close due to financial reasons. But we still managed to keep our core teens and young adults for a few months meeting at our house and other places convenient to them.

After finding another church, this time new and vibrant, we had lunch with some good friends. They admit their biggest regret in life was not having more children. Through suppressed tears, I admitted our biggest regret was not having children. We’d planned to have children once we were settled in our house and had saved $5k for a baby fund, but these family members saw to it we’d never see that day, especially with our lawsuit.

I mean, what reasonable person would intentionally bring a child into the world when they didn’t know if they’d have a home by the time the baby was born?

They scolded us for not having enough faith in God’s plan to consider otherwise. The wife told me that if she were younger, she’d just give it to God and believe that God would work out all the details for the good of us and this new child.

She was right. My husband and I talked the entire way home about the subject, and I’ll admit, I even cried. Until this point, I’d been using the Natural Cycles app to prevent pregnancy, but my husband and I agreed to stop tracking my cycle and let God decide when He wanted us to have a child.

A little more than a month later, I realized I was late. I had a pregnancy test at home, it was for a ‘just in case moment,’ and it confirmed my suspicion. We were pregnant.

It scared the life out of me and my husband could see the fear and immediately caught on without spending more than a few minutes with me. Nonetheless, we trusted that if God would give us this gift, we would go along for the ride. But the question still haunted me:

How could we bring a child into the world if we didn’t know where we’d live when the day came to bring it home?

Fighting the Right Battle

At our new (third) church, we joined a small group called “Freedom.” It was all about spiritual warfare.

That’s when everything clicked. I realized the trust: this wasn’t just about family conflicts or bad deals. This was the enemy at work.

The enemy saw our ministry. The impact we were having. And he attacked with everything he had—confusion, fear, financial ruin, betrayal, even legal warfare.

This is how the devil fights: he aims for the places you care about most. He distorts truth, strains relationships, and wears you down with discouragement. And if you don’t know what it is, you start to believe the lies. But when you realize it’s a spiritual attack, you can respond with spiritual tools.

And for the first time, I learned how to fight back the right way.

Through prayer. Through scripture. Through truth.

That season planted the seeds for what would later become the Simply Shielded prayer system I use and now have begun to share with other women. I learned how to pray offensively, not just reactively.

The Victory

We eventually fired our attorney and represented ourselves in court. God gave us wisdom. The lawsuit ended in mediation. $50k later, the home was legally ours.

Our daughter was with us at the closing.

We have since had to refinance to add our debt into the mortgage. It hasn’t been easy. But it’s ours.

This was a long battle. Ten years had passed since we first found this house in November 2009 until closing. It took six of those years—from when the warfare truly began in 2013—until we officially closed on the house in September 2019. What felt like delay was actually deep spiritual development. God was working, even when we didn’t understand the timing.

Recognizing How the Devil Fights

Spiritual Warfare isn’t just “Christian-ese”—it’s a reality we all have to face. And many women, just like I was, are living under attack without realizing it.

The devil fights through distraction, disunity, doubt, discouragement, fear, and confusion. He works through people who are vulnerable to his influence. He doesn’t always show up loud—sometimes he whispers lies until you believe them. He twists what’s good. He delays progress. He drains your energy so you stop pushing forward in the things God has called you to do.

If you’re in a season where everything feels off—where you’re doing the right things but nothing seems to be working—pause and pray. Ask the Lord to show you if you’re under spiritual attack.

Here are a few signs it may be spiritual warfare:

• Constant confusion or mental fog
• Strained relationships that feel suddenly hostile
• Financial attacks with no clear explanation
• Feeling isolated, unseen, or like giving up on your calling
• Unrelenting fear or anxiety

When you recognize it, respond in faith:

1. Pray scripture aloud — it is your sword.
2. Praise God, even when it hurts — worship drives darkness away.
3. Put on the armor — Ephesians 6 reminds us to stand firm with truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, and God’s Word.
4. Speak truth to lies — journal what you’re hearing and counter it with scripture.
5. Don’t fight alone — get prayer support, accountability, and resources.

The more you become aware of how the devil fights, the more powerfully you can stand in your authority as a daughter of the King.

Why We’re Ready to Leave

” Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
— Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
— Genesis 50:20 (NIV)

We’ve forgiven the people involved. We’ve moved on emotionally as much as we can. But as long as we live here, we’re surrounded by the memories of the trauma.

This house holds too many spiritual battle scars. We’re ready to leave it behind.

God has since spoken to me. He told me: “This time next year, you’ll be in the house with a baby in your belly.” That house, that promise, is coming. I believe it with all my heart.

This home, the pain, the confusion, and the battle—it all had a purpose.

The Promised House Project isn’t just about buying a new home. It’s about stepping into the promise that obedience, faith, and healing bring.

It’s about walking away from survival and into abundance. From bondage into freedom.

From battle into blessing.

If you’re walking through something similar—a long, drawn-out battle, where nothing makes sense and the people closest to you seem to be the source of your pain—take a second look.

It might be the devil fighting you. But take heart: he doesn’t get the last word.

God does.

Here’s something I’ve learned that changed how I see spiritual warfare: the devil doesn’t waste his time attacking what isn’t a threat. If you’re facing resistance, conflict, or confusion, take a moment to realize—it might actually be confirmation that you’re dangerous to the enemy’s plans. That your obedience is disrupting darkness. That your prayers are tearing down strongholds.

You’re not being tortured—you’re being prepared. You’re not stuck—you’re being shaped. This battle? It’s not the end. It’s the making of your testimony.

So strengthen yourself in the Word. Anchor yourself in prayer. And let God use you to bring victory and light into places that desperately need it. Because your faithfulness in the fire is part of His plan to win and further His kingdom.

This testimony is what led me to create Simply Shielded—a set of prayer tools for women fighting real spiritual battles. The Prayer Wall is the first part now available, designed to bring focus and faith into your everyday prayer life. The Prayer Binder and Prayer Bible will follow soon, but if you’re ready to take a stand right now, the Prayer Wall is ready for you.

Click here to check out the Prayer Wall

You’re not alone. And you don’t have to fight unarmed.

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