I don't worry about the fantastical creations of Hollywood, nor my vain imaginations. What I do realize however is that in our modern day existance there is a spiritual war being waged daily, by the minute casualities are being hauled across battle lines. Mortars are being fired, prophets are screaming "incoming"...the sound of narrowly missing bullets can be seen whizzing past like the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan.
I use seen, instead of heard on purpose. This battle is invisible, yet totally observable. To the wicked, bad things just happen to people, or worse, they are the cause of their own living casualty. To the unelightened, they live, seemingly perpetually underwater, unaware that the battle is being waged. And just like being underwater, you can hear muffled screams for people trying to help you, but you're hopelessly focused on your own survival and perhaps the contemplation of that possibility, so you're unable to rise to the surface. You're engaged in battle...and thus unable to observe that which keeps you in the battle.
I once had a duality of thought, competing ideas so to speak, on this very subject. I believe that God was in control of everything, except "some" things. He get's all the credit for the good, I get the credit for the bad, God is the cause of good in my life, I'm the cause of the bad....he's perfect, I'm worthless. Well that last part IS true...Many hold this view and don't even realize the problem with it. This view is, at least in part what holds us underwater.
There are demons assigned to you, just like there are heavenly angels assigned to you. They've gotten better over time and convincing you that you're worthless, your husband doesn't love you, your daddy doesn't love you, the world is out to get you, feeling bad for yourself is okay, God isn't real, prayers are fake, only you can save yourself, to worry about things which you have no control...admit it...all of us have these thoughts. Now, if we're chosen, if we're children of the light? How can we possibly entertain or even create these thoughts?
Let's start this way, have you ever experienced a time when these thoughts aren't present? Ofcourse you have. Then you experience when they are present...For me, I put it together, by the grace and mercy of God in the last 8 months, more specifically, I was able to accurately predict attack within the last 2 months. I've come to realize that it's a warzone out there. There are precious few Demilitarized Zones, but there ARE DMZ's.
Let's start with the anatomy of an attack.
Doubt, fear, anxiety; these are the primary attack tools.
Marriage, relationships, health, economics, children; these are the primary attack surfaces.
After agreement, after reconciliation, after repentance, after spiritual growth or enlightenment; this is primarily when you will be attacked the hardest.
I've learned to remind myself and I also did warn my wife this morning, that when we reconcile, Satan will bring everything he has at the our weakest link. He has the luxury of being able to see how things play out, unfettered by human emotion, compulsion or desire. He's a murderer. His only goal is to separate you from the love of God, the safety of his arms.
I've learned that it's only when I;
- Read my Bible
- Attend Church
- Attend Bible Study
- Evangelize
- Fellowship Deeply with other believers
- Earnestly Pray
- Sing
That I have safety...and in total honesty, what I really mean, is that these are methods of escaping attack. Much like running up a hill, onto the front porch, closing the door behind you all while the arrows continue to pelt your armor and the house and door as you close it behind you. I've found when I recognize I'm being attacked, I don't walk, I RUN to these places.
(Note, just as put the period on the last sentence, my daughter tripped on the power cord to this laptop, killing the power, and I thought possibly losing all my work. I see that as an attempt for Satan to tempt me to sin, by being angry...it didn't work).
You and I are attacked daily and by the minute. Your very thoughts are invaded by these beings. Some people have said that demons aren't omnescient, and I think I agree with that, however what we cannot understand is how our thoughts are known by others, without us ever telling them what we're saying. I'm not trying to be mystical here, I'm only saying there is an entire universe of energy and information that precious few of us have any access to. Those beings live there. What you think is a private thought may as well be a facebook status update to these beings...Just so you know, I don't feel I have any access to that world. I've had a rare occassion, where the Holy Spirit urged me to saying something, and prompted me with information I couldn't possibly know and it turned out to be correct. All beings on some level have had that experience, some would call it intuition, however the rote definition of intuition cannot explain the uncanny accuracy at times. Furthermore and last on this part of the subject, you must be certain from where you draw this "intuition" for it should be from the Father, anything else, is sinful and not from God.
So now, I look at the world as a 1942 battle scene, except with way more damage. There aren't any standing buildings. Everything is war torn, there are body's everywhere, every location and time of the day a potential skirmish can break out. I'm leery of every situation and encounter, I'm on guard, KNOWING that the devil roams about, like a roaring lion, looking for whom he might DEVOUR!
Realizing that my thoughts aren't a safe place, you must realize that everywhere is a battle ground. No place is safe, it's by God's mercy that talking to his servants, reading his word, or fellowshipping corporately can give you rest. A rest that Job never experienced until the very end. Guys, it's real, it's there and when you start looking for it, you see it everywhere. Some will say that if you look for something you'll find it, but that doesn't nullify or validate whether or not it's really there. So all we have to go on is what the Bible says, and in all I've read, I can see that it's there always and continually. Satan has been given dominion over this earth, this is his turf. You're an alien in a foreign land and he's looking for you, to afflict you. The good news is you don't have to let him.
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