During my recent Bible studies on Friday evenings we've been studying Spiritual Warfare. As most people know - when we get closer to the Lord the Devil gets mad. We are attacked. It's not fiction- it's reality. Satan would have us believe it's fiction, Satan would have us believe any attacks by him have to be the stuff of exorcisms. The every day ordinary life is Satan-free, right? That's how Satan would have us think. The nasty little every day irritations can't be from him, He doesn't bother himself with tiny stuff.
It's a lie, and He's the father of lies. Satan works his evil in every way he can in the smallest ways possible. He's not going to exert any more effort than needed to capture the spiritual life of a person. Satan will not go to great lengths if only small upsets are enough to take over a person and bring them to despair that they'll ever be able to be the Lord's fully.
Today I was attacked spiritually in a very vicious way and I didn't exhibit any Christ-like qualities as I was assaulted. The attack came from more than one side and just threw me for a loop. No, I'm not going to relate some amazing, supernatural occurrence to you. It wasn't a supernatural occurrence but rather situations set up to entice me to be overcome by the sin of unrighteous anger. In the blink of an eye one occurrence took place and while that spark ignited the fire a heart beat later another occurrence caused that small flame to explode and I felt an awful rage of anger and logically there was no real reason for any of it to happen! None! I don't understand why, I just know that I succumbed to the attack and reacted just how Satan wanted me to react. The guilt, the shame, the awful knowledge that my spiritual life was so lacking I could be so easily goaded into sinning pained me something awful. Knowing that others witnessed my unwarranted anger, knowing others were the victims of my failing made me feel sick. Recognizing it all for what it was- a Satanic attack- not of the spectacular but of the ordinary- was a blessing. Asking for forgiveness, letting the others know it was an attack- helped me get through it without too much spiritual damage- PRAISE GOD!
The reason I'm writing about this here in my Bible Study is because we need to recognize the enemy for what He is and what He does. We need to realize His workings not as an excuse like some think we use it for, but for the reality we live in. We need to BLAME Satan for what He does, for what He orchestrates, for the evil He incites, we CAN'T let Him place the blame on us as if He doesn't exist, or worse still we can't let Him place the blame on God.
This Psalm of David has been brought to my attention several times lately and with good reason-
Psa 35:1 A Psalm of David. Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.
Psa 35:2 Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.
Psa 35:3 Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.
Psa 35:4 Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.
Psa 35:5 Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the LORD chase them.
Psa 35:6 Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the LORD persecute them.
The angel of the LORD chase them.
The angel of the LORD persecute them.
Satan is an evil angel and he has many minions of like kind. We might read something like the verses above and instantly imagine living in a time of warfare with human enemies after us- something I know I don't live with at all in that respect. What I live with is spiritual warfare. I need to pray this prayer- I need to ask the Lord to strive with me, to fight against them that fight against me- and those who are the 'them' might just be evil angels, not other human beings. We are told to put on armor- Spiritual armor. We are told to take a helmet, a shield, a sword, a belt, boots, a breastplate- armor. Here in this Psalm David is pleading to God- 'take hold of a shield and buckler- draw out the spear.' Spiritual armor! We need our spiritual enemies to be just as confounded, to be put to shame, to turn back, to be brought to confusion. We need the spiritual enemy to be as chaff in the wind- we need the angel of the Lord to persecute them.
We are in a battle! We are, we really, really are and we can't let anything in this world convince us otherwise. As soon as we begin to believe the battle is fictional we are lost.
It is my prayer along with David's- Plead my cause, O LORD. Plead my cause! Please God- Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation!
By His grace!
Amen.
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