In today’s high-anxiety culture, the idea of “mental health” has become a buzzword. Self-care routines, therapy hacks and motivational quotes dominate the landscape. But for followers of Jesus, the path to lasting emotional and mental health isn’t found in mantras or mood boards. It’s found in the trenches of spiritual warfare—one decision, one prayer one surrender at a time.
Best-selling author and seasoned minister Dr. Iris Delgado drives this point home in her piercing new book, Satan, You Can’t Rule My Emotions. Her message is clear: mental and emotional healing are not a single breakthrough moment. Mental health is a daily, deliberate spiritual effort.
And if you’re not engaged in that fight, you’re losing ground by default.
Mental Health Is a Daily War, Not a Momentary Victory
Many believers cling to the hope of instant healing—a one-time encounter that will flip the switch and make everything better. But Delgado challenges this notion with a sobering truth: emotional stability is not a one-and-done miracle. It’s the result of consistent surrender, truth application, and spiritual resilience.
“The battle for your mental health is not a once-in-a-life event,” she writes. “It’s a daily consistent effort grounded in faithful trust in God.” In other words, it’s not just about what happened at last Sunday’s altar call—it’s about what you do on Monday morning when the enemy whispers lies in your ear and your emotions spiral out of control.
Recognize the Enemy’s Strategy: Disruption, Deception, Despair
The first key to victory is acknowledging that there is an actual enemy working against you. Delgado makes it clear that Satan’s attacks are subtle but strategic. He doesn’t always roar like a lion; sometimes he slithers like a serpent, sowing seeds of discouragement, confusion or self-pity.
He aims to:
- Disrupt your peace.
- Distort your thoughts.
- Dismantle your relationships.
- Discourage your faith.
He uses generational baggage, unresolved trauma, internal lies and even cultural narratives to keep you shackled. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Why am I still stuck in this emotional pattern?”—there’s a good chance you’re dealing with one of his traps. And the only way out is to expose the lie and replace it with God’s truth.
Victory Requires God’s Tools, Not Just Positive Thinking
Self-help slogans won’t break chains—only the power of the Holy Spirit and the authority of God’s Word will. Power spiritual strategies that go beyond surface-level solutions include:
Identify and dismantle toxic thought patterns: These aren’t just mental ruts—they’re spiritual strongholds that must be demolished by truth (2 Cor. 10:4–5).
Break free from generational curses and emotional strongholds: You may have inherited more than your grandmother’s anxiety or your father’s temper. But the blood of Jesus breaks every chain if you’re willing to confront and renounce them.
Experience healing through the daily renewal of the mind: Romans 12:2 isn’t optional—it’s survival. Transformation comes through soaking in the Word, not scrolling through social media.
Spiritual freedom is not automatic. It’s intentional. Every lie you uproot and every truth you declare is a step forward in your healing.
Climbing Out of the Pit Requires Cooperation With God
Psalm 40:1–3 offers one of the most vivid pictures of deliverance in Scripture. The psalmist says God not only heard his cry but pulled him out of the “horrible pit”—a metaphor for mental and emotional anguish. But here’s what we often miss: the psalmist waited and cried out. He partnered with God in the process.
This isn’t a passive rescue operation. Freedom requires your cooperation. God opens the door, but you must walk through it. He hands you the key, but you must choose to unlock the chains.
And here’s the hard truth: many people stay stuck in emotional bondage not because God isn’t willing to deliver them, but because they aren’t willing to take the uncomfortable steps toward freedom.
Practical Steps to Daily Emotional Freedom
Mere inspiration will not move the needle, progress requires substantive, clear steps that give a ladder up and out of the pit.
Renounce self-pity. This is a big one. The “poor me” mentality may feel comforting, but it’s spiritually suffocating. Delgado urges readers to reject the temptation to wallow. As 1 Corinthians 10:13 reminds us, everyone faces trials, but God always provides a way out—if we’re willing to take it.
Fully forgive. Bitterness is like drinking poison and expecting your enemy to die. Forgiveness isn’t a feeling—it’s a decision. It means letting go of the desire to punish, trusting God to vindicate, and praying for those who hurt you. Delgado emphasizes that unforgiveness is a spiritual blockade, not just an emotional wound.
Reject comparison. Measuring yourself against others breeds either inferiority or pride. Either way, it’s a trap. Galatians 6:4 challenges us to focus on our own work, our own progress, and our own obedience. God didn’t call you to someone else’s path—He called you to yours.
Guard your thoughts and words. Words create spiritual momentum. Delgado warns that repeating the enemy’s lies—like “I’ll never change” or “I’m too damaged”—actually gives him more power. Instead, declare God’s promises and confess His truth over your life. Your tongue is a weapon—use it wisely.
Stay tenderhearted. Life hardens people. But spiritual growth requires softness. Delgado calls on believers to reject the false safety of emotional numbness and instead lean into the healing presence of God. Tenderness is not weakness—it’s the soil where the Holy Spirit works.
Spiritual Growth Demands Heart Discipline
Emotional freedom demands a holy lifestyle. You can’t walk in victory if you’re nurturing secret grudges, justifying pride, or chasing self-centered dreams. That priceless freedom purchased for us in the blood on the cross, is found in disciplines such as:
Pray for those who offend you: Not only does this align you with Christ’s example, but it purifies your own heart.
Desire God’s will above your own: Lay your expectations on the altar and trust God’s higher plan—even when it hurts.
Resist the urge to avenge yourself: Vengeance hardens the heart and puts you in God’s seat. Leave justice to Him.
Accept correction and grow: Be teachable. True freedom requires brutal honesty with yourself and a willingness to change.
This isn’t legalism—it’s spiritual maturity. It’s choosing the narrow road that leads to life.
God’s Perspective Changes Everything
The way you interpret your life determines how you experience it. We must as believers adopt God’s lens:
- You are seated with Christ—which means you’re above the drama, not buried in it.
- God can use even injustice to elevate you—just look at Joseph, Esther, or Jesus Himself.
- Life isn’t always “fair,” but it is always filtered through God’s love and sovereignty.
When you surrender your rights and expectations, peace floods in. You stop needing control because you trust the One who holds it all.
Staying Free Means Staying Filled
Freedom is not just about what you break off—it’s about what you fill up with. Delgado underscores the absolute necessity of living full of the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience—aren’t personality traits. They’re evidence of a heart saturated with God.
To sustain and build your freedom:
Renew your mind daily. This is not optional. You are being shaped every day—either by culture or by Christ.
Live in the present. Regret and worry are tools of the enemy. God lives in the now. So should you.
Stay grateful. Thankfulness disarms the enemy and re-centers your soul.
Stop speaking defeat. Words are not harmless—they’re spiritual declarations. Speak life or stay stuck.
You Were Made to Thrive, Not Just Survive
Jesus didn’t go to the cross just so you could limp through life barely holding on. He came to give you life and life abundantly (John 10:10). Emotional health is not just about avoiding breakdown—it’s about walking in purpose, joy and power. You weren’t saved just to be rescued from hell. You were saved to represent heaven on earth.
“The journey out of the abyss is not always easy,” Delgado says, “but it is always worth it.” Each time you choose forgiveness over revenge, humility over pride, truth over lies—you’re climbing higher. The chains loosen. The darkness fades. And the light of Christ shines brighter.
Take His Hand. Keep Climbing.
Spiritual warfare isn’t glamorous. It’s gritty. It’s personal. And it’s each day. But it’s also winnable. With every step you take toward healing, God is right there with you—empowering you with His Word, strengthening you by His Spirit, and loving you into wholeness.
So, take His hand. Refuse to give the enemy one more inch of territory in your mind or your emotions. You were made for more than survival.
You were made to live free.
Iris Delgado, PhD, is the founder of Crowned with Purpose Ministries. She is the author of a series of books that include Satan, You Can’t Have My Children; Satan, You Can’t Have My Marriage; Satan, You Can’t Have My Promises; Satan, You Can’t Have My Miracle; and her new book, Satan, You Can’t Rule My Emotions, available now on amazon.com. Iris and her husband, John, live in Dallas.
