As a deliverance minister who preaches at churches around the globe, Vlad Savchuk says he has seen skyrocketing stress levels, especially in American culture. It is causing people, including millions of believers, to be engulfed by a demonic spirit sent by the enemy.
That, he says, is never what God wants for their lives.
God doesn’t want us to live “marginless,” or without breathing room. If you find that is happening to you, Savchuk says it’s likely Satan has wrapped a spirit of python around you—one that is meant to squeeze the life out of you—especially if you are trying to serve God with your whole heart.
“A recent survey says that seven out of 10 US adults feel completely overwhelmed,” Savchuk said in a recent sermon. “Being marginless is the disease of our decade, and margin is the cure. Margin is having a space between your limit and your load. We all have a load, and we all have a limit. It’s not biblical, or common sense, to break that limit. Having margin is having breathing room in your life where your load and limits never meet.
“Two things will happen if you don’t have margin. Number one, your stress levels will go up, and as our stress levels go up, we begin to develop diseases that otherwise wouldn’t be there. Then, we begin to medicate for all of that. Number two, your relational intimacy goes down. All of your relationships become superficial. They are not deep anymore because it takes room for relationships to flourish, even your relationship with God.”
That’s when you might likely discover the spirit of python is present in your life. Savchuck says a demon commonly takes the name and nature of a snake. When a spirit of python likely is present there are three ways this devastating entity can attack you:
“First, pythons can swallow their prey whole,” he says. “Satan loves to put thoughts of hopelessness, disrepair and suicide to invite people to take their life. Suicide is never a solution. It’s a sin against God. We don’t partner with the spirit of death to find peace. Jesus can set you free from suicidal tendencies.”
In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that suicide was the 12th-leading cause of death overall in the United States, claiming the lives of nearly 46,000 people. It was the second-leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10-14 and 25-34.
“Second, python squeezes the breath from its victims. The word ‘breath’ in the Bible represents the Holy Spirit and life. The devil wants to squeeze the life out of believers by using their circumstances, overwhelming them with the burdens of life. We must breathe in God’s Word (2 Tim. 3:10) and breathe out prayers of life.
“Third, pythons lay eggs and incubates them until they hatch. The devil loves to put eggs of doubt into the minds of people. If doubt is not taken care of, it can hatch into unbelief. Doubt can become a sin if it leads you away from God,” Savchuck says.
Are you experiencing doubt, especially about the presence of God in your life? There are several ways to deal with it and to expel this destructive spirit:
- Don’t miss the community. Doubt feeds on isolation.
- Focus on what God has done. Remembering what God has done helps you to fuel confidence in God’s Word.
- Remember how much Jesus loves you. Jesus’ stripes heal our sickness, and His scars heal our doubt.
- Call on Jesus in your doubt. God does not mind if we doubt as long as we look for answers from him.
- Speak God’s Word against the devil. Jesus was questioned in the wilderness with doubt, yet he fought it by speaking God’s Word.
“I believe that it is Satan’s task to swallow people alive,” Savchuk says. “John 10:10 says the thief does not come except to steal, kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
As someone who earlier in life had thoughts of taking his own life, Savchuk explains how Jesus can deliver you from the spirit of python, just as he was delivered.
“Satan is after you, and if he cannot destroy you, he would rather swallow you alive,” he declared. “I have a word for every person today that is standing on the edge. Solution is not found in suicide, it is found in Jesus Christ.
“You may say that you can’t take it anymore, but I have something better you can do with your life that take it, and that’s to lay it down. Give your life. That’s what the Lord spoke to me when I was a teenager. Jesus says, give it Me, and watch what I can do with it.” {eoa}
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Shawn A. Akers is the online editor at Charisma Media.
