A common greeting among people is, "Hello. How are you doing?" And a common response is, "Not too bad under the circumstances." This should never be the response of the Christian.

A Christian should not be "under the circumstances." Being under the circumstances means that the things of life rule over you. What are your circumstances in life? Are they financial? Are they physical? Are they family-related? Whatever the circumstances, we should rule over them.

Once we become Christians, we are not to be ruled by what is around us. As Christians, we are not to make our decisions in life based on what we see. Our decisions must be based on the commands from God in the invisible world and we must act on them in this visible world we reside in.

If we allow ourselves to react to the circumstances around us, then all the devil has to do to nudge us into the place where he wants us to be is to change our circumstances. As believers, we are commanded to not be moved by what we see, but instead, to walk by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Remember, Paul talked about that in the book of Acts. "Now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me" (Acts 20:22-24).

We must be like Paul. We must not allow ourselves to be moved by anything that the devil delivers to us. We must only be moved by the Spirit of God and by what God speaks to us through His Word.

We were created to rule and reign on this earth. Under the New Covenant, we have been given authority over all the power of the evil one. There is no excuse for a Christian to "be under the circumstances."

So the next time someone greets you and asks how you are doing, try telling that person the truth - that you are a child of the King, the enemy is under your feet, and you are always above the circumstances.