YOU DON’T STEAL FROM AN EMPTY HOUSE

October 27, 2025
By Damilola Bright

What you’re carrying is worth fighting for!

I gave my life to Christ during a crossover service on December 31st, 2021, stepping into the new year with fresh hope and a fire for God I had never known before. It felt like I had finally crossed over into freedom, into purpose. But not long after—by April—I found myself in a hospital bed being prepped for theatre.

I remember thinking “Wait…isn’t salvation supposed to make life smoother?”

To be honest, life before Jesus had its messiness, but it almost felt… quieter. Fewer battles. Less resistance. And now—after giving my yes to God—suddenly there were emotional storms, physical pain, a bunch of issues I had never experienced, and this loud, unrelenting voice in my head whispering, this is your punishment. This is what you get for your past. It’s all your fault. I didn’t realize it then, but that was never God speaking. That was the enemy—playing on my fears, twisting my thoughts, trying to get me to retreat right at the edge of breakthrough.

Before I gave my life to Christ, I was living in the devil’s playground—and he didn’t have to search for me. He didn’t have to try that hard. I made his job easy because I was already doing the work of self-destruction for him—living in compromise, guilt, and spiritual ignorance. But the moment I came into the knowledge of who I am and what I carry, I made his job harder. I became a threat. My ‘yes’ to Jesus disrupted hell’s agenda for my life. And that’s when the attacks began to feel more targeted, more intense—because now I was aware, and awareness is dangerous to the kingdom of darkness.

The Word says in

John 10:10 that “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy…” (NLT) And in 1 Peter 5:8, we’re warned: “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (NIV).

He doesn’t go after empty vessels. He goes after glory carriers. You don’t steal from an empty house. If you’ve been wondering why things were “easier” before you surrendered to Christ, maybe it’s because the enemy didn’t see you as a threat back then. But now? Now he does. Because the weight of the glory on your life is real.

I’ll never forget the night after my surgery, sitting in my hospital bed, weighed down with pain and confusion. A friend from church called to check on me. I honestly don’t even think he knows what that conversation did for me. I told him how I was struggling—how I felt like maybe this suffering was God’s way of getting back at me for who I used to be. He paused and gently said, “Open your Bible to James 2:13.” I did. “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” (NIV) That verse hit me like a wave. In that moment, I was reminded of the truth: In Christ, I am free. No condemnation. No payback. Just mercy. That conversation reawakened something in me. My authority. My identity. And the realization that the enemy’s greatest fear is me walking in both.

If you’re reading this and you’ve been battling silently—questioning whether your pain is a sign that you messed up—hear me:

No, you’re not being punished.
No, God hasn’t abandoned you.
Yes, you are still chosen.
And yes, mercy still speaks over your life.

Surround yourself with people who will speak life and truth when you forget.
People who will hold you in prayer, war with you in the spirit, and remind you of who you are in Christ.

Romans 8:18 says, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (NIV)

There is glory coming. There is breakthrough ahead. There is purpose in your pain. So, don’t give up, sis. Don’t let the enemy trick you into laying down what God placed in you. You don’t steal from an empty house. There is something in you worth fighting for. That’s why he’s trying so hard. But he’s already defeated—and you are already free.