How to Move from Defeat to Victory, with Judy Dunagan

Are you living a life of victory . . . or defeat? Find out how you can live in true freedom in this episode of Grounded with guest Judy Dunagan. Judy’s powerful story will inspire you to fight back against the enemy with the roar of God’s Word and prayer.

Connect with Judy 

Twitter: @judydunagan 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/judydunaganauthor

Website: https://judydunagan.com/

Episode Notes

• Judy Dunagan’s website: https://judydunagan.com 
• Heaven Rules book by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: https://www.reviveourhearts.com/store/category/resource-collections/heaven-rules/
• The Loudest Roar book by Judy Dunagan: https://www.reviveourhearts.com/store/product/the-loudest-roar/
• “Living in the Unshakable Victory of Christ, by Judy Dunagan” podcast series: https://www.reviveourhearts.com/podcast/revive-our-hearts/season/living-in-the-unshakable-victory-of-christ-by-judy/

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Portia Collins: Are you living a life of victory or defeat? I’m Portia Collins, and this is Grounded.

Erin Davis: I'm Erin Davis. Is there a third option, Portia, of how to live in victory in some areas and defeat some other areas? What do you think? 

Portia: Maybe we can.

Erin: Maybe we'll find out. Portia and I and usually our friend Dannah (she's not here with us this week) are here every week to hand out two things that you need every week, and we do too, that's hope and perspective. 

I'm sure that I don't need to announce that here in the United States, tomorrow is Independence Day. Hope you got your potato salad in the fridge. I hope you got your fireworks purchased. And I gotta tell you, we are planning a par-tay on the Davis farm, because we have two boys that have birthdays this time of year. 

But I don't want to just think about that celebration. Let's reframe it. What does it mean to live in true freedom? And I'm not talking about the freedom that comes because of the victory of one nation over another nation 200 years ago. I'm talking about the victory kind of victory that comes because of what Jesus did 2,000 years ago.

Portia: Amen, amen. But wait a minute, I need to back up just a minute. 

Erin: Okay, take us back.

Portia: So, the Collins family did not get an invite to the Davis family barbecue, and I’m just feeling some kind of way about that.

Erin: The Collins family is always welcome at the Davis family barbecue or holidays or birthdays. You just have an open invitation. Come on. Come on. 

Portia: Okay. All right.

Erin: And in addition to the Collins family, I bet sweet Emmi would have some fun on the Davis farm. 

Portia: She would. 

Erin: I would love for you to be there. And you know who else I wish could be there? Our guest today, Judy Dunagan. She's actually truly a friend of mine. I adore her. She serves on the team at Moody Publishers. I've had the joy of working with her on several projects. Judy has a heart to see women live free because of Jesus. She's got a powerful story about the moment she realized that the whispers of the enemy held no power over her. You're not gonna want to miss that conversation that is going to be happening very soon between Portia and Judy.

Portia: I'm ready for it. And y’all know, Grounded is a conversation. So, I need you to step up to the keyboard if you're sitting at your computer, or grab your cellular device and get ready to interact in the chat. All right.

I've got a question. Is there an area of your life where you are perhaps feeling totally defeated? Like, you just feel like it's over with. How about an area where you may be dealing with a lot of fear? All right.

Answer those for me, we want to know about it. Drop your answers in the chat if you feel comfortable. And in the meantime, get your Bibles ready. 

Because Erin Davis is going to take us to the book of Revelation in just a little while. So go ahead and get your Bibles ready. She's gonna show us how the big battle ends. While you're grabbing your Bible and interacting in the chat, I've given you guys a lot of stuff to do today. 

Erin: They might be sitting by the pool as they're listening to this, but that's okay.

Portia: Hey, you know what you signed up for when you decided to watch Grounded.

Erin: That’s right. 

Portia: Okay. While you're doing all of that, we're going to transition to good news. And Erin, can you give us something to smile about this morning?

8:43 - Good News (with Erin Davis)

Erin: I love it when I get to be the bearer of good news. And just this morning, we just have a little story that's gonna put a smile on your face. I want you to take a deep breath. There's one more thing we want you to do. Take a deep breath. I want you to do that because I want to ask if there's anyone else out there who just loves the smell of a library? I do.

How about the thrill of checking out a new library book? Fellow biblio friends (that's the name for those of us who love books), you're gonna love this little good news anecdote that comes from a California library.

That library recently received an overdue library book that's not necessarily new or noteworthy. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever turned in a library book on time. But what was so special about this book? 

Well, it was checked out nearly 100 years ago. Can you believe it? The book was originally checked out in 1927 and was mysteriously dropped in the library's return slot without explanation, which does give me hope for the library books the Davis boys have misplaced through the years—though I hope we're still not looking for them in 100 years. 

Do you want to know the title of the book? It makes this good news story especially fitting for this week: A History of the United States. Can you imagine what was written on those pages when that book was released in, get this, 1892? What a fun way to celebrate America's Independence Day with the return of this last book. We hope this story puts at least a quick smile on your face. Portia, get us grounded with God's people.

Portia: Love it. Love it. Love it. All right, we're gonna keep the fun going. We've got Judy Dunagan with us today. She describes herself as an author, a speaker, and, get this, a wonder seeker. I love that. She has a passion for discipling women. She's the author of the book The Loudest Roar. Welcome to Grounded, Judy.

10:28 - Grounded with God's People (Judy Dunagan)

Judy Dunagan: Thank you, Portia. It's so good to be here with you. I love all that you're doing through Grounded, and it's a privilege to be with you. 

Portia: Alright, we love us some Judy here over at Grounded. We love it when we can hear from her. 

So, I want you to share something with us. You have a story about a moment when you realized God's voice is louder than the voice of the enemy. Can you share that story with us?

Judy: Sure, I'd love to share that story. I've been involved in women's ministries for years. A few years ago I met with a woman who had one of the hardest stories I've ever heard. It was very obvious the enemy was coming at her. She was considering leaving the faith and questioning God's goodness and even His existence. So, I spent a lot of time with her in prayer and gave her some resources.

And Portia, I remember after I said good-bye, my head was kind of down in defeat and went back to my office at the church and I just cried out to the Lord. I said, “Your Word tells us that the enemy is like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour.” And I asked, Why is his roar so loud? Why does he have so much power?”

I'll never forget it. It was as if God reminded me that Jesus is the bigger lion. He is the Lion of Judah with the loudest roar, and He purchased our victory through His death and His resurrection and ascension. And we can stand in that victory against sin and temptation and against the enemy every day. We need to live in that identity that we are more than conquerors because of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Portia: Amen. Oh, Judy, I see you about to take us to church, and I am here for it today. I am here. You know, you actually have a spiritual legacy of learning to see spiritual warfare through the lens of victory. Can you tell us about your dad and the impact that he had on your spiritual life?

Judy: Yes, my dad is Mark Bubeck. Back in 1975, he published a book called The Adversary, which was about our victory in Christ and just to be aware of how the enemy comes at us as believers. That book is a bestseller. It's still in print—Moody Publishers published it. And then his second book is called Warfare Praying: Biblical Strategies for Overcoming the Adversary. 

And so ever since I was a middle school, I've known these truths. Part of my story is the enemy really started coming at me when I was about 12 or 13 years old. I had been at a slumber party, and I dabbled with a seance at the slumber party. And you know, when girls get together at that age there was a seance, a Quija board, which is really dangerous and gives the enemy a foothold, especially as a follower of Christ. 

And so soon after that, I started to have really terrifying nightmares. My father started to really teach me how to stand on my victory, how to pray Scripture, how to fight the enemy through the armor that God provides, which is outlined in Ephesians 6. I'm so grateful for that legacy. But the most important part was he was a man of prayer and taught my sisters and I how important prayer is in the battles that we face.

Portia: I'm glad that you shared that. We just had a Grounded episode a couple of weeks ago where we talked about New Age practices and how they are creeping into the church. We talked about things like the Ouija board and how they are very dangerous, and how they are a foothold to the enemy. And so, I'm glad that you're taking us there. Let's dig in a little bit more. How can we know if we are facing spiritual warfare?

Judy: Well Portia, I believe because we're followers of Christ, we're in a battle until the Lord takes us home or comes back for us. The enemy targets us. He hates us, and he hates our ministry, our love for Jesus. He comes at us, I believe, with temptations. He entices us to sin. And then if we fall into sin, he's all about shaming us. He's also the father of lies. God's Word tells us that. I believe that's one of the main ways he comes at believers, whether it's lies about who we are in Christ, our identity in Christ, or about who our God is.

As you know, many people are deconstructing their faith because they're questioning God's goodness and faithfulness and even His existence. And that's all part of the battle. And so, we know we're a target. 

But my hope and my focus of my book and my teaching is to focus on the victory that's already been won for us. As believers, we don't fight for victory. We fight from victory. But we are going to face a battle. We need to know how to stand firm against the wiles of the enemy.

Portia: Amen. Judy, there is a little thing that I like to say, and all of the Grounded sisters have started saying it. But when I'm really in agreement with something and it is just stirring me up, I want to throw my shoe. That's how I feel right now. I want to throw my shoe because this is so good. 

And so, I needed to learn about what it means. I love what you said from victory. We are operating from victory. And I'm like, “Yes, yes.” So, keep taking us to church. 

I have a quote from your dad. It says, “Satan roars to make us afraid and thus more vulnerable. But our purchased right is courage to resist him.” 

Wow, wow, I want to throw my shoe. Okay. Tell us more about that purchased right.

Judy: Well, that Jesus Christ purchased the victory over sin and death. And, you know, He conquered the grave through His death, and His resurrection. And part of that was overcoming the enemy. Now the enemy is a defeated foe, but he also has a lot of power. As I just shared from God's Word, he's like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour. And so we need to be aware that he is very crafty. He wants to attack us, but we can't live in fear. We need to live in victory. 

You know, I started to notice a lot of women in my ministry were starting to be very discouraged, almost as if they thought the enemy had more power than our mighty God. And of course, the enemy wants us to believe that. He wants us to be distracted from the truth of the victory that Jesus won for us. 

I think one of the most effective passages is Ephesians 6, which outlines the armor, and it's really a victory passage that Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus. The church at that time in that city was steeped in goddess worship and occult practices, and you almost sense that he is desperate. But it's a message for us today. The first few verses just start “Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” 

And then it goes on to say the battles we face and outlines the armor. I just love to study the armor because I believe the armor is who Jesus is. He's the one who covers us with His protective armor as we go about our day facing the battles that the enemy is throwing at us.

Portia: Amen, amen. You know, in your book you say that our two mightiest items in the war are the Word and prayer. So, how does the Word help us fight back against the enemy?

Judy: Well, it's so important to use God's Word as the sword of the Spirit when the enemy comes at us with temptations or those lies. I think our Lord Jesus modeled this better than anyone when He walked this groaning earth and the enemy came at him in the wilderness after Jesus had been fasting for 40 days. The enemy came at him with three fierce temptations. Each time the enemy threw a temptation at Him, Jesus said, “It is written.” It was as if he was picking up God's Word, the sword of the Spirit and wielding it against the enemy. And then the enemy had to give up. After three tries he gave up. Because that is how our Lord Jesus fought him.

It's like our Savior’s sword was filled with the truth of God's Word; whereas, the enemy's sword was filled with lies and even twisted truths. He even quoted from a Scripture in one of his temptations. 

So, Jesus modeled for us that God's Word is the mighty weapon we can use. I think when you combine that with prayer, it's even more powerful. 

You know, I'm a grandma now of five little ones—four boys and a little girl all under the age of six. I have decided I want to be remembered as a prayer warrior for them. And so, I've started to pray Scripture almost every day for them. I try to go to the Scripture passage and pray for them by name. 

I recommend that to your listeners, especially if they're sensing that perhaps a child or a loved one is under attack, or they're really burdened for someone to pick up that sword of the Spirit in prayer, and to be able to use those two mighty weapons or mightiest weapons against the enemy. 

Portia: A little birdie has told me something about this phrase. I think that you've maybe kind of coined a warfare prayer. Can you share what is a warfare prayer?

Judy: Well, warfare praying is really doctrinal praying, praying Scriptures as I've been sharing. That is a way to just use God's Word in prayer. I have a free resource at my website, which is just my name, JudyDunagan.com. It's called “ThePower of Praying Scripture.”If listeners subscribe to my website, they can download it. I have five prayers, and they're all based in Scripture. There's one for when you're afraid, when you're fearful. There's one when you're lamenting. There's one when you're burdened for a child. My book also has a lot of written prayers. My dad spoke warfare prayers. It is really praying God's Word and standing in the victory that we've already won through prayer. It's a way to keep your thoughts captive to truth. 

Some examples are written prayers that I have in my book. My father in his book, Warfare Praying, has a lot of prayers based in Scripture. There's one on Psalm 91 that I share in my book and one based on Psalm 139.

I think when you're really sensing a battle, whatever it is . . . I know for me, I can deal with anxiety often, especially if I have a loved one sick. I can just go to Dr. Google and get my anxiety revved up. I've learned I've got to go to God's Word and pray Scripture for that loved one. It calms my anxious heart. It helps me keep my eyes and heart focused on our Lord Jesus Christ, rather than what I am fearing and giving the enemy really a foothold, to be able to escalate those fears to where I'm walking in sin, even. And so, it's really part of a battle plan to pray God's Word as part of warfare praying.

Portia: Amen, amen. But you know, here at Grounded, we always say we'd like to hand out hope and perspective. I know that there are women watching and listening who feel like they are right in the thick of a battle, a hard battle right now. They may think it's just doom and gloom. What type of hope or encouragement would you pass along to that woman right now?

Judy: Well, I would encourage them to fix their eyes on our Lord Jesus. You know, our Lord Jesus is the King of kings. We're told in God's Word that He's seated at the right hand of the throne of God the Father. We're told in Romans 8 that He intercedes for us. He's praying for us in that same passage of Romans 8. We're told that when we don't have words to pray, let's say when your sorrows are so deep, we're told that the Holy Spirit groans in prayer for us. 

And so, my message of hope is, your situation may seem hopeless, but remember that the Triune God is ever aware, that He's a compassionate, loving God, and that He is praying and groaning for you in prayer. He's not a capricious god, He's not one who's too busy for your deep sorrows. He is right there for you. 

And God's Word tells us that He hems us in from behind and before. He hems us in from all sides. That's really His armor. Remember that you are victorious because of our Lord Jesus Christ and what he has purchased for us through His death and His resurrection and His ascension.

Portia: Amen, amen. I love that. So, tell us this, where can people learn more about you and your book and any resources that you may have? Can you share that with us?

Judy: Yes, you can just go to my website, which is JudyDunagan.com. I have a lot of blog posts about prayer and our victory in Christ. You can find out more about where to find my book. And also, I have a free resource if you subscribe to my website. You can download it. It's called The Power of Praying Scripture, where I have five different prayers that I've written based in Scripture. And so, if you're dealing with anxiety or temptation, or you have a burden for a prodigal, or you're dealing with deep sorrow, there's those prayer patterns for you from God's Word that you can find there.

Portia: I love it. I love it. Thank you so much for being with us today. Judy, you have revved us up. It makes me ready to pray. I'm gonna go download that free resource. So, thank you.

Judy: Thank you. Thank you, Portia.

Portia: All right, Erin Davis, get us grounded in God's Word. I’ve got my Bible, and we're going to Revelation, right?

24:47 - Grounded in God's Word (with Erin Davis)

Erin: We are, I'm ready. I love the book of Revelation. So, if you've watched Grounded very often, you've heard me teach from it before. I don't think it's a scary book at all. I think it is a victorious book. And when I knew Judy was coming on, I knew I'd want to teach it from it. 

So, I want to say before we open our Bibles together is that it's okay to want immediate victory, for your anxious heart to maybe feel more settled when your heart is racing, for the cancer to go into remission, for your child to get well, for your marriage to be restored. The Lord cares about the details of your life down to the very hairs on your head. In His Word He's taught us to come to Him with everything. But Christian, and this is an important caveat, He the ultimate hope. Your ultimate hope is not in today's victory. 

So as if you were hearing God talk, if you thought, Okay, I'm going to trust God to give me today's victory, He can and He might. But those are just little skirmishes in a much bigger war. I actually believe that the victory is much more significant than we typically acknowledge. 

Sometimes God in His kindness gives us those small victories, though they rarely seem small at the time. But there is a deeper, more permanent, more significant victory coming. That's where I want to turn our hearts today. 

So, I get to say those favorite words of mine, open your Bible to the book of Revelation, chapter 12. I'm just gonna read us a single verse from this chapter. It might feel a little disorienting to hear this single verse, But then I'm gonna wrap a bow on it, I promise. Revelation chapter 12, verse 17, says,

Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.

Next to this verse in my Bible, I have some words written here that says, “Satan is at war with those who love the Word.” We see that right there in the text. And then underneath that I wrote, “Satan is at war with you.”

Judy Dunnigan said to me once in a room, “You know, Satan hates us. He would kill all of us if he could.” 

I knew that on some level, but not in the way that she explained it to me so directly. It has made me live from victory like she talked about because he hates me and I hate him. The word makes that really clear. If you are a woman of the Word, if you are a woman who believes God's Word is true, and that it gives us life, you should know that Satan is at war with you today. Whatever battle you're facing today, it is at its core a spiritual battle now. It’s not saying there's not physical battles or relational battles or financial battles. Of course there are; I live a real life just like the rest of you. 

But at the core, if we could peel back the layers of those battles we fight in our every day life, we would see that what's happening in the physical realm is first happening in the spiritual. Paul warned us of this, and Ephesians 6, Judy was referencing those first beautiful verses in Ephesians. He said, “Hey, Christians, pay attention, church pay attention. You're not fighting against flesh and blood. You're not fighting against each other, at least, not just with each other. You're fighting against principalities; you're fighting against powers; you're fighting rulers of the dark world.” 

So, there is a lower battle. It looks like husband against wife, friend against friend, political party against political party. I could go on, but I don't need to. But there is also an upper battle. And the upper battle is between God and His forces of righteousness of light, and Satan and his forces of wickedness and darkness.

That war is not a new war. It's helpful for me to remember that when I think, Why am I facing this? Or why am I continuing to face this? Well, this is an ancient war. It's a war that has been raging since before the Garden of Eden. Often it seems like it is a war that is never going to end. But it will. 

This is why God's Word is one of our loudest roars, because we know that the battle will end. Revelation chapter 19, turn just a little ways from where we just were. Revelation chapter 19, let me read you verses 19–21. 

And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

Since I believe all of God's Word is inspired, and it's all useful for instruction, I don't skip the parts that make us squirm. 

So, let's picture it. There's the beast, who is Satan. He's lined up on the shore of the sea with the wicked kings of this world. And they do have a vast army. It seems like all hope of victory is lost. But if you look again, closely at verse 20, you'll see that the beast is captured, and there is no mention of a battle. And the armies of darkness are cut down with a sword from the mouth of the one who's sitting on the throne. Well, who's that? Jesus, of course. I didn't make that up the rest of Revelation 19 tells us that. 

So, in an ultimate sense, and again, I don't want to trivialize the very real skirmishes that you're facing today. But in an ultimate sense, God's people will not have to fight in this final battle because Jesus will win the war. 

In fact, Jesus has already won the war. That's what He meant when He said it was finished. Once and for all, Jesus will cut down our enemy, that ancient serpent, that foe that does have power in our day. But God is going to cut him down. Jesus is going to cut them down with the sword of truth. You probably sang the song when you were a kid: “I'm in the Lord's army. Yes, sir.” Right? And you are. 

That's a kid's song, but it's actually a very mature bit of theology that you are enlisted in an army. And what do armies do? We fight back. We fight back against darkness. We fight back against wickedness. We fight back against the one who wants to claim us as his own, but we don't belong to him. We belong to Jesus. I don't know how many times I say to him, “You can't have me. You can’t have my kids. You can't have my marriage. I don't belong to you. I belong to Jesus body, mind, soul, and spirit. You can't have any piece of me. I'm enlisted in the army whose victory is certain because our general is Jesus. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.” 

And if you want somewhere else to go in your Bible after this episode of Grounded, go read all of Revelation 19 You will see an image of Jesus as a warrior. He will hold on you for the fight that you have in front of you. 

So, yes, you are more than conquerors because Jesus conquered death and wickedness. And if all of that's true, and if a day is coming when Jesus will ultimately defeat Satan and evil and sin and wickedness, then what does it look like to live in that victory today? I don't know the answer for you. But I know the answer for me is shoulder squared, head high, Bible open, because that's what a good soldier does. And that's how I hope you'll live victorious. 

Portia, you better come back on here before I get too fired up because I love this passage of Scripture.

Portia: I know. I know. And this is why I didn't tell everybody initially that Revelation is like one of your favorite books. And this passage in particular, because I just wanted them to like experience it. I remember first meeting you, and one of the first passages that I ever heard you teach through what came from Revelation.

Erin: Yeah, Revelation 21. 

Portia: Yep. Revelation 21. I was like, this lady is my sister! This was well before Grounded before any of that.

Erin: It was.

Portia: And I was like, I really liked this lady, and she's gonna be my sister forever. I mean, she's already my sister, but like, she's really going to be stuck with me.

Erin: All the way. And in a very real, real way, for sure. I mean, we will be together forever. We won't live forever, but we are united together. 

Portia: In victory.

Erin: In victory. Absolutely.

Portia: Amen, amen. Well, we got to keep laying it on thick, and we have the tools to help you stay grounded. You know, there's two words around here that we say a lot at Revive Our Hearts.And now somebody's probably saying, “Oh, the two words are hope and perspective.” Yes, we love those two words too. But we also love the two words, Heaven rules. Okay, those are two words that we really love. It comes from the book of Daniel. 

And it is the idea that Jesus is King over everything. And so, if you're in a battle right now, and most of us probably are. And if you are finding yourself needing help, if you're wanting to hold on to hope, if you are wanting to see an understanding that Jesus gets the ultimate victory, then we want to point you to the book, Heaven Rules. It is the latest release from Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth. We will drop a link for you to check it out in the chat and the show notes.

Erin: We certainly will and I did want to mention Judy Dunagan’s again, The Loudest Roar. It’s a great, great tool to reach for if you are feeling defeated or fearful in these days. You can see it's not a big book, but it's gonna be a quick read.

Portia: It’s meaty. 

Erin: It’s meaty, that's right. And if you want to hear more from Judy, and I know you do, I want to make sure you check out Revive Our Hearts today and tomorrow, because Judy's teaching from the True Woman ’22 conference, which was themed Heaven Rules. It will be airing on Revive Our Hearts today and tomorrow. You can listen to that on ReviveOurHearts.com, or I hope you already have the Revive Our Hearts app. 

Portia. I'm ready. I'm ready for the fireworks now. I'm ready for the hot dogs. I'm ready for the party. And I'm ready to live a life of victory. How about you?

Portia: Okay, well, it's time to fire up the grill. I won't be firing up the grill unless y'all want to experience like a real fire. 

Erin: No, thanks. Let Mikhail do that. 

Portia: Right, right. Go get your sunscreen on, Girl. Get your your pool gear ready and enjoy Independence Day. And even more importantly, it's time to enjoy the freedom.

Erin: Freedom that we have in Christ. We need fireworks for that. 

Portia: That's what I think about when I think about Independence Day. I'm like, “Hey, it's good that America is free, but it's great to be free in Christ.” 

Erin: Amen. 

Portia: So, hurry back next week. Justin Early will be with us. We've been trying to get him on Grounded for months. 

Erin: We have. 

Portia: And listen, it's not gonna disappoint. He's gonna have you thinking about your family habits in a whole new way.

Erin: I'm gonna be there. I would not miss it. I hope that you're going to be there. So let's wake up with hope together next week on Grounded.

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