Marina Walker thought she had security—fifteen years in the corporate world, a steady paycheck, and a clear career path. But when an unexpected layoff shattered her sense of stability, she was forced to make a choice: retreat to the familiarity of another job or step into the vision that had been burning in her heart for years.
As she meticulously laid the foundation for her business, God was simultaneously rebuilding her foundation of faith. Through setbacks, doubts, and moments of near defeat, Marina learned that success wasn’t just about strategy—it was about spiritual fortitude.
This powerful installment in the Unshaken Series is a story of perseverance, spiritual warfare, and the undeniable truth that victory isn’t just about achieving a goal—it’s about becoming the warrior God called you to be. Marina’s journey will inspire anyone who has ever faced uncertainty, fear, or delay, reminding us all that the battle is already won—but only if we’re dressed to fight. Read how Ephesians 6:14-17 comes alive through Marina's story.
*All characters in this story are fictional, as are the trials depicted, though they reflect struggles that many can relate to.
"The Pitch"
Marina Walker had spent fifteen years climbing the corporate ladder, only to find herself at the top of a sinking ship. When the layoffs were announced, she wasn’t even surprised. The tension in the office had been thick for months—whispers in breakrooms, worried glances between employees. When the email arrived with her name on the list, she stared at the screen for a long time, feeling… nothing.
She should have been panicked. She should have been updating her resume and scrambling for interviews like everyone else. Instead, peace settled over her like a knowing.
For years, she had carried a dream. A vision that had always felt just out of reach—a faith-based life coaching and counseling business. She wanted to create a space where people could find healing, restoration, and purpose. A place where faith and personal development merged to empower people to step into the lives they were created for. But she had always put it off. The steady paycheck. The benefits. The safety of knowing exactly what her next step would be. Now, there was no safety net. Just a choice. She could send out resumes and go back to a world she had outgrown—or she could finally take the risk. For the first time in her life, she chose the risk.
In the months that followed, she poured herself into her business plan, researching the market, outlining financial projections, meeting with mentors. But as she worked to lay the foundation for her business, she realized that her spiritual foundation needed rebuilding. She had spent too many years moving through life surviving instead of standing firm. Too many years doubting herself, letting fear whisper louder than her faith. So, alongside her business planning, she entered a season of divine development.
She spent mornings in prayer and worship before she touched her laptop. She journaled through her fears, replacing them with scriptures. She studied biblical principles of wisdom, faith, and endurance, realizing that the same lessons she would one day coach others through, were the ones she had to master first. God wasn’t just building a business through her—He was rebuilding her from the inside out.
By the time she had a solid business plan, she wasn’t the same woman who had been laid off. She was stronger. Rooted. Ready. And now, as she stood outside the glass doors of the bank, she reminded herself of that. This wasn’t just about funding a dream. This was about walking into her calling with confidence.
She gripped the folder with her business plan and stepped inside.
The waiting area buzzed with quiet urgency—low murmurs of conversations, the rhythmic clacking of keyboards, the tension of decisions being made. She was led into an office where a loan officer in a tailored navy suit gave her a polite but unreadable nod. “Ms. Walker, correct?” “Yes.” She sat, placing her folder on his desk, feeling the weight of everything this moment held. The officer flipped through her business plan, scanning the financial projections, reading her mission statement. The silence between them stretched, heavy and suffocating. Her stomach tightened. The old version of herself would have shrunk under the pressure, let doubt crawl into the cracks and whisper that she didn’t belong here. But she had prepared for this battle.
She remembered the words of Elijah, the old pastor she had visited during her retreat in Arizona when she first started planning her business. "The enemy thrives in deception. You must know the truth."
She gripped the arms of her chair and buckled the Belt of Truth around her waist. She belonged here. She was called to this. This wasn’t just a good idea—it was a God idea.
The loan officer leaned back. "Your numbers look good, but tell me, what makes this business different from every other life coaching service?" The fear lunged at her, but she had spent too much time slipping on unstable ground to let it shake her now. She planted her feet in peace.
"Because this isn’t just about making money," she said with certainty. "This business is about transformation. It’s about meeting people at their lowest and helping them rise—not just with strategies, but with faith. I believe there is a gap in the market that my business fills, and I’m prepared to bridge that gap."
The words came not from rehearsed scripts but from conviction. The loan officer nodded, scribbling something in his notes. The rest of the conversation flowed smoothly. She answered every question, using her Shield of Faith to absorb every arrow of doubt before it could pierce her confidence.
"The Wait"
By the time Marina left the bank, she knew she had done all she could. She had presented her case, answered every question with confidence, and walked out knowing that whether they approved her loan or not, she had fought for her dream. But now, the part that was out of her hands began.
The waiting was unbearable. The first day passed without a call, and she reminded herself that banks didn’t operate on her timetable. By the second day, doubt began creeping in, whispering its familiar taunts. By the third day, the silence became deafening. The unanswered calls, the empty inbox—it all felt like confirmation of her worst fears. Her mind filled in the gaps with rejection. They hated it. They’re rejecting you. You should have never even tried.
The weight of uncertainty pressed against her chest, threatening to drag her back into the cycle of fear that had controlled her for so many years. She had worked too hard, come too far, to allow herself to spiral again. This was the moment when all that she had built—both in her business and in her faith—had to stand firm.
She walked into her bedroom and reached for her Bible, the tool she had relearned to use as an anchor. She flipped to the pages she had marked, to the scriptures she had leaned on every time fear tried to claim her during her season of preparing for the pitch. Taking a deep breath, she spoke them aloud.
"God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind."
"I am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me."
"No weapon formed against me shall prosper."
At first, she only whispered them, almost hesitant, almost questioning. But the more she spoke, the stronger her voice became. Even as doubt lingered in the background, she refused to entertain it. No. She wouldn’t allow fear to sit at her table. She had spent too much of her life making room for it, letting it shape her decisions, letting it steal her confidence. She was done with that. She knew what she had to do next.
Walking to her prayer closet, she shut the door behind her, sealing herself in the space that had become her war room. Here, no distractions existed. Here, no opinions could taint her faith. Here, it was just her and God.
"Lord, I refuse to let fear dictate my future. I refuse to let anxiety steal what You’ve already promised me. You gave me this vision, and I trust You with it. I stand on Your Word, and I will not waver."
Her voice grew stronger with each declaration, the power of the words moving past the walls of her closet and taking root in her spirit.
"Your Word says I am victorious. Your Word says no weapon formed against me will prosper. Your Word says I am chosen, equipped, and more than capable."
Something shifted in the air around her. It wasn’t just emotion; it was tangible. The fear that had clenched at her mind loosened its grip. The anxiety that had been pressing against her chest lifted, as if expelled by the force of truth. Peace rushed in, not as a fragile, fleeting moment, but as an unshakable presence.
The battle had never been about the loan. The battle had always been about whether or not she would stand firm in faith, whether or not she would allow uncertainty to shake her or if she would choose to trust. And now she knew. Without having the answer from the bank, she knew that her loan would be funded, and it was just a matter of time before her beliefs matched her reality. She had already won.
Two days later, at exactly 4:23 p.m., her phone rang. Her breath caught as she saw the number on the screen. It wasn’t a spam call. It wasn’t a wrong number. It was the bank. For a second, she just stared at it, heart pounding. Then, with steady hands, she answered.
"Ms. Walker?" "Yes?"
"We’re pleased to inform you that your loan has been approved."
She closed her eyes, pressing her free hand against her chest as the weight of the words settled over her. It wasn’t just relief that filled her; it was something deeper. It was the confirmation of everything she had fought for—not just this loan, not just this business, but for herself.
For the first time in years, she had stepped fully into who she was meant to be. She had walked through uncertainty without shrinking. She had trusted when it would have been easier to fear. She had stood firm when the enemy had whispered that she couldn’t do it.
She had fought, not just with business plans and financial projections, but with prayer, faith, and the unwavering knowledge that God had already equipped her for this battle.
She hung up and stood there for a long moment, absorbing it all. She had won. Not because of the bank’s decision, not because of an approval, but because she had learned how to fight with her faith intact.
She walked over to her speaker, scrolling through her playlist until she found the song she had played so many times before, a song that had carried her through moments of doubt. As Jekalyn Carr’s You Will Win filled the room, she let the lyrics settle deep into her spirit.
"I know you're hurt
I know you're torn
I know you are broken
But you will win
All of those may be facts
But the truth still remains
That in the Name of Jesus
You will win
So lay your hands on yourself and say this
It's my winning season (It's my winning season)"
She closed her eyes, whispering the words to herself, not just as hope, but as truth. Because this time, she wasn’t just saying it. She knew it was true. She had put on the full armor of God and whooped the devils behind!
"The Tea. The Truth. The Lesson"
Marina was not the same woman who had entered this season. She was a woman who had been divinely developed—refined by fire, strengthened through trial, and anchored in faith. The woman who once allowed fear to dictate her steps had been replaced by a woman who understood that in times of uncertainty, it is not enough to whisper a prayer here and there, not enough to spend days crying instead of praying, not enough to let emotions lead while faith lingers in the background. She had learned that the only way to fight the demonic spirits of doubt, worry, anxiety, and depression was with the full armor of God—to stand, to declare, to fight, and to trust. And as she stepped into the next chapter of her life, she carried with her four key lessons that would shape not only her business but every battle she would face from this point forward.
1. Secure Your Foundation—Truth Holds You Together. (Ephesians 6:14) Before she could stand, before she could fight, she had to know who she was. Lies had tried to unravel her, but she had fastened the Belt of Truth around her waist and refused to be swayed. God’s Word was her foundation, and no storm could shake what was built on truth.
2. Guard Your Heart and Move with Integrity—The Right Fight is Not Against People. (Ephesians 6:14, 6:12) Bitterness had knocked at her door. She had every reason to be angry at the past, at those who doubted her, at those who had taken from her. But she had learned that the real battle was not against people but against the spiritual forces trying to break her. She had chosen to wear the Breastplate of Righteousness, understanding that protecting her heart meant choosing integrity over resentment, obedience over emotion, and faith over retaliation.
3. Walk in Peace, Not in Panic—Firm Footing Keeps You from Falling. (Ephesians 6:15) Fear had tried to paralyze her, whispering worst-case scenarios and urging her to run in every direction except forward. But she had stepped into the Shoes of Peace, realizing that her stability was not based on external circumstances but on an internal confidence in God’s sovereignty. When life became uncertain, she didn’t slip into panic—she stood firm in peace.
4. Fight with Faith, Speak the Word—Your Sword is Your Strength. (Ephesians 6:16-17) She had learned that doubt wouldn’t disappear on its own, fear wouldn’t bow down just because she wanted it to, and anxiety wouldn’t leave unless she commanded it to with the Word of God. She had wielded the Shield of Faith to block every fiery dart and had struck back with the Sword of the Spirit—declaring God’s Word until it became more real than the lies. Faith wasn’t passive. It was a weapon, and she had learned how to use it.
This was the woman Marina had become—a woman equipped, empowered, and unwavering. A woman who understood that victory wasn’t just about winning a loan approval or securing a business deal, but about learning how to stand firm in faith no matter the outcome. She had entered this season uncertain, unprepared, and unsteady.
Now, she was walking into her future armed, ready, and dressed for a WIN.
"Step Into Your Victory"
Marina’s journey is a powerful reminder that the battles we face are not just about what’s happening around us, but about the spiritual warfare within us. The enemy attacks through doubt, fear, anxiety, and delay, but we are not powerless. When we are dressed in the full Armor of God, we are equipped to stand firm, fight back, and win.
Now, it’s your turn.
Wherever you are, I invite you to stop for a moment. Step away from the noise, enter a place of seclusion—a room, a quiet corner. Place your right hand on your heart and speak these words aloud:
A Prayer for Victory
"Father, I come before You today, laying down every fear, every doubt, and every burden at Your feet. I declare that I am not a victim of my circumstances—I am a warrior in the Spirit. I reject every lie of the enemy that says I am not enough, that I am not capable, that I am not chosen. I fasten the Belt of Truth around me and stand on Your Word as my foundation. I guard my heart with the Breastplate of Righteousness, choosing integrity over bitterness and faith over fear. I plant my feet in the Shoes of Peace, standing firm even when the storm rages around me. I lift my Shield of Faith to block every fiery arrow of doubt and anxiety, knowing that I walk in divine favor. I put on the Helmet of Salvation, protecting my mind from worry and discouragement, anchoring myself in the truth that I am saved, redeemed, and victorious. And I take up the Sword of the Spirit—Your Word—declaring that no weapon formed against me shall prosper. I am not shaken. I am not defeated. I am equipped, empowered, and unbreakable in You. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen."
Take a deep breath. Feel the peace of God settle over you. Walk forward knowing that you are covered, that you are armed, that you are already victorious.
Now, I challenge you: Who in your life needs to hear this message? Who is in a battle of their own and needs the reminder that they are stronger than their circumstances?
Share this story. Encourage someone today. And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram or TikTok @sipandsharetherealtea—let’s walk this journey together.
🔥 Stand firm. Stay dressed. And never forget—YOU are unshaken. 🔥
Add comment
Comments