Spiritual Warfare Is Real

On this week episode I share a powerful snippet from my book “Spiritual Warfare In The Digital Age” and take you with me into a hospital room where fear, grief and faith collide in real time. 

Transcript

The Battle You Cannot See

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We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. This Bible verse emphasizes that we are humans having a spiritual experience. And the spiritual and that spiritual warfare is real. And honestly, in that moment, I was flattered. Because I knew that thieves don't rob empty houses. When LeBron James is on the basketball court, the opposing team head coach typically makes plays to double team LeBron in hopes that LeBron can't get near to the ball to score because he threatens the other team's chance at victory. Similar to when you are a threat in the enemy's kingdom, Satan tries to throw you off your game because he knows you are a powerful player. Good thing God already marked us for something big. The devil knows it. Yes, ma'am. Yes, sir. Welcome back to another episode of Mind Over Matter Punion Head Top. Like you really came back to listen to another episode. I could tell you love yourself. I could tell you're glowing. I could tell. I could just tell that your ambiance is of a higher vibration. I appreciate you for coming back. That's my way of saying I appreciate you for coming back. And if this isn't your first time, welcome. Welcome, welcome to Mind Over Matter. Welcome to the podcast. Get comfy, grab a snack, because we're in for a treat on episode 114 of Mind Over Matter. I am going to give you a little snippet of my book. Yes, yes, I'm an author. I've been writing this book, I want to say for a few months now, and I ran out of content, so I might as well share with you guys. No, honestly, I just feel like I got my spark back though. For real. Like, I feel like these past few episodes, I was kind of pulling teeth because I was going through a hard time, and I was just trying to show up for myself, trying to just show up, show up, show up. And life was like uppercut, left punch, uppercut, uppercut, left punch. And I was just like, oh man, this is hard, but I gotta keep going because it's mind of a matter, baby. And I kept going and I feel like I finally got it back. Like I finally got that spark, I got that oomph, I got that, you know, yeah, and I feel like I'm back, I'm better, and I feel ready to just show my art to you, so be nice, to be nice. Um, yeah, I decided to write this book because I was going and I still kinda am. I feel like I always am, but like we rebuke that in the name of Jesus. I'm not always going through something hard. Life was life in per usual, and I just needed somewhere to put all that built-up emotions, and hence this book was created, and you know, as a creative, I think it's just indicative that we create. And at the time, being on camera and podcasting was just too soon for what I was going through. So, my medium I chose as my form of expression was writing this book, and I really hope you all appreciate it. You take something away from it, and it it's enjoyable. And I know it will be, it's a good book. I feel like it's a page turner, I feel like it keeps you on the edge of the seat, I feel like it's provocative yet. You know, it's everything you need in a book, and yeah, I titled this book Spiritual Warfare in the Digital Age. I know serious, uh-uh, uh serious, uh, but it's still like good, I promise. And yeah, let's just get right into this book. I'm not gonna do too much chit chat and too much politic, and let's get right into the book. I'm excited to share it with you all, and let me know what you think. I have not finished the book. This is about, I want to say almost halfway done, but I just think that I want to share it, so let's share it. Have you ever felt like a battle is happening all around you? One that you can't see, can't fully explain, but feels more real than the endless wars going on in the Middle East. Lately that's been my reality. As if an inevitable war is unfolding all around me. That many may recognize as spiritual warfare. On December 25th, 2025, at 9 23 a.m., I walked into my brother's hospital room carrying a heaviness that felt like I was carrying a gallon of water with nowhere to place it. My older brother DJ was lying on a hospital bed, knocked out. When I say knocked out, I mean knocked out. Percocet, morphine, precedex, molly. A cocktail of pharmaceutical drugs with future nowhere in sight. I just added that. I thought it was a little funny. It had him somewhere between Earth and wherever people go when doctors say he's resting comfortably, but you're not convinced he's resting or comfortable. At that moment, he had no clue I was in the room with him. I smiled as I walked to his bedside to greet him because that's what I typically do. I smile through the pain. It's a gift and a curse not to look like what you're going through. On one end of the stick, at least I'm glowing. On the other end, people have looked at that as a green light to see how they can suck that glow out of my stick and undermine my struggle just because I don't look like struggle. Regardless of the heaviness that lingered in the background, like an old refrigerator that hums all day but doesn't keep anything cold. I enthusiastically greeted my brother like an old high school friend I haven't seen in years. Fighting the weight sitting on my chest, I was grateful just to be in the room with him. Trying my best to stay optimistic despite the reality of the situation. At that point, it felt borderline delusional. Even though he was in this vegetable-like state, I said to him, That me up. When he didn't respond, I grabbed his hand, forced it into a fist, and gave myself a fist bump and said, Wow, you left me hanging. I awkwardly joked. Mike Tyson once said in a podcast interview on the Joe Rogan experience, Delusion is only delusional when you don't accomplish the goal of making your delusion a reality. Every fiber and cell in my body told me very soon DJ will be dapping me back up, smiling, and fully conscious, despite everything in the environment at the time telling me otherwise. I held his hand and looked up at the TV and immediately got irritated. Rock music was playing. Rock music. Now, keep in mind the day before yesterday, I left the TV on BET before I left the hospital room. The TV channel stayed on BET for three days straight. Nobody touched the remote. But when I decided to tune the channel to gospel music late last night, it didn't even last till the morning. I know my brother didn't suddenly rise out his coma-like state and said, you know what I feel like right for right now? I need the Beatles and change the channel. Absolutely not. Maybe if the music channel was on Pop Smoke, I would have considered him changing the channel a strong possibility. But now I'm side-eyeing. But now I'm standing there annoyed, suspicious, and spiritually side-eyeing the situation. Instantly my mind goes to the male nurse from the night before, the one judgmentally peeking around the corner, looking at me as if he just saw a ghost. I ignored the male nurse's perplexed stare while I anointed my brother with holy oil. As the nurse watched me looking deeply uncomfortable while I spoke life over my brother, I was on a mission to undo every negative word the doctors casually spoke over him the day before. Like they were ordering coffee at Starbucks. Yeah, your brother neurologically may have plateaued, and I don't expect to see much progression from here, Dr. Patel said with no rem no remorse in his voice. But I've been wrong before. I stared at him, expressionless, as my throat balled up, and it instantly felt as if I had been deprived of water for months. As I swallowed my salty tears, which didn't relieve the constricting feeling in my throat after hearing the worst news of my life. My spirit immediately alerted me at that moment, like I was Batman, responding to the bat signal. Anoint your brother. I've never anointed anyone in my life. I still felt like a baby Christian at the time who relied on my mature brothers and sisters in Christ to lean on. I immediately remember the holy water that was gifted to me a few days prior by the grandmother of the child I watched at my latest side hustle as a behavioral therapist for autistic children, with which recently I decided to walk away from to be with my older brother in this time. In that moment, I learned a valuable lesson that when God gives you instructions, you follow. Thank God for the gift of a praying family who was able to give me the strength and guidance I needed after hearing this terrible report. I hopped on a prayer call with my aunts, real prayer warriors, real women of God, the kind of women who don't say, I'll pray for you and forget. No. These women pray like they're storming heaven with divine authority, as they should. Their voices were blaring through my phone speakers, rebuking doctors' reports, speaking in tongues, guiding me step by step as I anointed my brother and cried out to God for a miracle. All those early Sunday mornings, my parents dragged my brother and I to church, no matter how late we went to bed the night before, started to make sense now. This kind of spiritual warfare wasn't new. From the moment of conception, this world has been working really hard to bend, shrink, and knock DJ and I out of alignment. So no, the nurse changing the channel wasn't a mundane, wasn't as mundane as as musical preference. That moment was spiritual warfare manifesting in the physical. It was the male's nurse spirit being bothered by the presence of God and reaching for something that fed his spirit. Ephesians 6 verse 12 explains this perfectly. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. This Bible verse emphasizes that we are humans having a spiritual experience. And the spiritual in that spiritual warfare is real. And honestly, in that moment, I was flattered. Because I knew that thieves don't rob empty houses. When LeBron James is on the basketball court, the opposing team head coach typically makes plays to double team LeBron in hopes that LeBron can't get near to the ball to score because he threatens the other team's chance at victory. Similar to when you are a threat in the enemy's kingdom, Satan tries to throw you off your game because he knows you are a powerful player. Good thing God already marked us for something big. The devil knows it. I knew it in the hospital room that the victory was already mine. So I just had to claim it. Jeremiah 29, verse 11 explains God's game plan for his children. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope in a future. The devil knows God has big plans for us. That's why he feels threatened by the authority we carry. The authority to step on his neck and crush every lie he tries to plant in us. Like how he tried his best to deceive Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. After God promised them riches in eternal life, the devil worked overtime to deceive Adam and Eve. So similar to how he uses those same tricks on us now. Satan works overtime to discourage us, deceive us, and make it look like he's winning when he's not. That's why I entered the hospital room that day so optimistically. To confuse the devil. Praise confuses the enemy, especially when he tries to use deception to discourage us. It's a reminder that we cannot that he cannot steal our joy. And it opens the atmosphere for God to show up because what you focus on multiplies. So I decided to focus on God's goodness, despite the uncertainty of the moment. James 1, verse 2 to 3 explains how we should respond to uncertainty and hardships. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And that's who I'm writing this book on behalf of. The day before, doctors told me my brother had neurologically plateaued. That report didn't sit right with me. As I walked back into the hospital room, using the authority given to me by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I said out loud, I rebuke that in the name of Jesus. Every fiber of my being told me something different. That my brother would be a walking miracle. By this point in my life, spiritual warfare wasn't new to me. It had been present before conception. The difference now was my awareness of it. Not only was I finally seeing the spiritual warfare as clear as night and day, I have now begun to take up my sword and fight back. And that's it. That's the end. That's the little snippet. That's a little snippet. I know, I know, I know. You didn't want it to end. It was actually on your edging your seat, right? You had you on your edge of your seat. But I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you guys think about the book so far. I gave you a little, like, a little, like, a little oomph, just a little oomph. Because I wanted you to see what I've been working on behind the scenes. And I really do hope you all enjoyed it. It's so much more. So much more. So much more action-packed. So tune in for the next episode. Maybe I share some more of it. Uh, and yeah. It's this this real is more than that meets the eye. And I did tell you in my life on my last episode that I didn't want to speak more about God. And this is my way of speaking more about God. And uh, yeah. You reach the end of another episode. Um, make sure you put telefriend, mother, auntie, sister, auntie, that is mine over matter, baby.