Overcomer: One ManaEUR(tm)s Journey to Healing

By Dan H. Meissner

The enemy or Satan lies to everyone, especially nonbelievers of Jesus Christ. From firsthand experience, stop listening to the enemy! The enemy lied and deceived me my entire life. I don’t want this to happen to you. These lies just don’t come from him; he uses people in your life, such as people in school, coaches, and even family members, to deceive and lie to you. Don’tfall for it. The thief’s purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). I got sick and tired of being angry all the time. I knew I needed to change because if I didn’t, my life wouldn’t be worth living anymore. I needed peace and joy in my life. I was tired of hurting the loved ones around me because of my attitude. After giving my life to Christ in 2008, He helped me and, still to this day, helps me heal day by day. It’s all about forgiving yourself and allowing Jesus to work inside of you. Our Jesus helps me to heal through scripture and dreams. I went to plenty of therapists, and they never helped me. Don’t let your pride prevent you from letting Jesus heal you. Don’t think you’re too tough for Jesus. Jesus never tapped out or gave up on us, so why should you give up on yourself? Grow closer to Jesus, and He will grow closer to you. Jesus’s door is always open; have the guts to cross the threshold! He is waiting for you and wants a relationship with you. You have nothing to lose. Give your burdens over to Jesus, and quit having the enemy lie to you as he lied to me.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889437277

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Overcomer

One ManaEUR(tm)s Journey to Healing

Dan H. Meissner Jr.

ISBN 979-8-88943-726-0 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88943-727-7 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Dan H. Meissner Jr.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois. References marked NIV are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®, copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. References marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. References marked NKJV are from The Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Preface

The year was 2008. It was a cold and rainy night in Arizona as I sat in my car—engine on, garage doors closed. Depression had been raging against my mind and my entire being for weeks. I was tired, defeated, and filled with rage and anger about my pathetic and unfulfilling life, and I wanted the pain to stop.

I had now suffered what I considered to be the ultimate betrayal, having learned that my now ex-wife had been cheating on me for years and with multiple men. The shame, humiliation, and defeat of it were overwhelming. I could not eat or go about my daily life. All I wanted to do was lie around and feel sorry for myself. I just wanted to fall asleep, but even sleep seemed against me. I slept only four hours a night, if I was lucky. Jack Daniel's became the only thing that eased the pain. It became my closest companion during that season.

You are worthless! You are meaningless! You don't deserve to live! These thoughts kept coming over and over without stopping. I believed these thoughts and agreed with them.

After drinking a full 750 ml of Jack Daniel's, I decided I was going to stop the pain. I wanted to end my life. After all, it was meaningless and worthless, and I did not deserve to go on living.

After the bottle was empty, I went into the garage, got inside my Dodge Durango, and started the engine. I rolled the windows up to make sure the exhaust fumes would fill the inside of the car. Then I sat and waited for the pain to end.

The stench in the air was growing stronger. I was sure this was it. Then, from out of nowhere, I heard another voice inside of me. This time, it was not condemning me or telling me to die. Instead, I heard the voice say, Dan, My Son, don't do this! I began to weep like a wounded child, tears streaming down my face, and love and peace began to wash over me. I could feel it coming in waves. It felt like someone was wrapping me in a blanket. I immediately sobered up. The pain was gone, and the condemning voice that had convinced me to die was also gone.

This love was one I had never felt before. I could not stop weeping. Then, again, I heard the voice say to me, I am here for you. Just like that. In the blink of an eye, my feelings went from pain and destruction to love and peace. With my hands shaking and my heart now filling with excitement, I quickly turned off the engine and ran inside the house. This feeling was different from anything I had experienced before. In a single moment, I went from desperately wanting to die to desperately wanting to live.

I knew there was more to the story. I knew at that moment that there had to be a purpose. I did not know it then, but that purpose would be to learn to live as one with Jesus, to live my life for Him and His kingdom. In the process, I would need to recognize and overcome the lies that had brought me to the point of death.

Dan Meissner

Goodyear, Arizona

Introduction

Since that fateful night in 2008, when God grabbed me out of the hands of the enemy, I have continued to grow in my understanding of what had gone wrong in my life and how I had fallen into such a dark pit in the first place. More importantly, I have learned how to remain far removed from that place, no matter what happens in my daily life.

The devil is a liar

What I did not know back then was that we have a very real enemy. This enemy hates us because he hates God and all that God created. Why is the enemy so hateful? It is because he cannot touch God and he knows it? Instead, he goes after God's children and after His bride. (The Scriptures teach that we are both a child of God [see John 1:12] and part of the bride of Christ [see 2 Corinthians 11:2].)

Many popular movies follow this same story line: the bad guy goes after the family of the good guy, knowing that it's the only way he can get to him. Real life is not very different. Satan hates Jesus so much that he wants us to turn our backs on the work of the cross and the victory gained through Jesus's resurrection. He wants us to worship him instead of worshipping God. How could he ever convince us to do that? It's easy; he lies to us.

For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)

This passage of scripture tells me two things: (1) Satan, the devil, is a liar, and (2) he uses people as his voice. In this case, it was the Pharisees.

In the Old Testament, David, God's anointed king and an Old Testament picture of Jesus, came under a similar attack. Over and over again, in the psalms, we see the king crying out to God because of what he was suffering at the hand of his enemies. In the following example, he spoke of the lies that were being uttered against him by those he called wicked.

For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with their lying tongues. They encircle me with words of hate and attack me without cause. (Ps. 109:2–3 ESV)

Jesus revealed the ultimate goal of Satan: to destroy all that He died to give us.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)

How does this battle look for me and you? Most of us do not have a physical enemy who is seeking to destroy us; our enemy is spiritual. We cannot see him, but he is still there, and you can see his influence. If you are bound by addictions, suffer from sadness or depression, or are constantly held down by illness, lack of peace, lack of hope, lack of joy, these are all fruits of the enemy and signs that he is influencing you, trying to destroy you.

There are many ways the enemy can come at us, but the most significant way he influences us and holds us captive is through our thoughts and beliefs. Proverbs 23:7 states, "For as [a man]