Why The "Panicking Christian"?

Like most Christians, I occasionally find myself in a borderline, all out panic about something which I already knew, but seem to have forgotten or that I only knew in my head, as opposed to my heart. And mercifully, God decides to show me what is really going on or what it is that I needed to know, before I completely lose my mind.

So the writing within is just that. It is that which God has shown and taught me while I was typically in one of those times in my life. Since the way in which He has chosen to reveal things to me tend to be fairly easy to follow and understand, I am sharing them via this format. That said, I take no glory for any of this. It is God whom has given me the ability to write, and it is He who has given me the content to write as well and He who saved me by His glorious grace in the first place.

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Ready! Aim! ....

This is one of those posts that may be a bit over due but, then again, perhaps it is right on time for someone.

Spiritual warfare.  It is a term which many Christians know altho not everyone understands what it is, or even if it is something they should know anything about.  With the last part, it certainly is something we should all know about since, as believers, we are part of a spiritual war, whether we want to be or not.

I am no expert but I have run into no small number of situations over the years and have learned some things along the way, so I shall share some of the tidbit I know. Generally speaking, there are three variations of spiritual warfare, altho there are certainly many branches beyond three.

The first involves things being said directly to you. These things may be said from the outside but, more often than not, they are spoken directly into your heart and mind.  These things will usually be some form or fashion of lie, fear or doubt and tend to cause confusion and chaos, among other things.  Now then, if we were to use the Ephesians 6 imagery of the armour, this battle would see us making heavy use of our shield or, more specifically, our faith. 

Do you recall the story of Eve and the garden?  Do you remember satan's words "did God really say"?  This type of battle sees a fair bit of that kind of thing as the enemy tries to make us question everything from the existence of God Himself to our salvation to who God says we are to what He has called us to or into, in an effort to keep us from being effective at all, keep us struggling when we don't have to and, inevitably, attempting to throw a spiritual wrench into whatever God wants to do.  In essence, satan is trying to destroy the very thing which is our defense:  faith.  So what is our defense in this situation?  Simply put, knowing what God said.  Knowing what God has said in the Bible about who we are, knowing whom He has said He is, and knowing what it is that God has directed us into or called us into whether that be ministry, relational, occupational, etc. So when the lies, fears, doubts, chaos, etc come we will know what God has said and be able to stand on that.

Another variation of warfare involves interactions with other people - whether individuals or groups.  Now sometimes, there are just personality clashes or issues on the go but other times there is a strong sense that "someone" else may be pulling strings behind the scenes.  This is the type of situation where we may become conscious that our struggle is not against flesh and blood at all.

In these situations our "gut reaction" may well be to react out of our own humanity - meeting violence or hatred with violence or hatred (something which rarely ever ends well for anyone) - but we may find ourselves merely running in circles getting more and more tired by the second.  So, we keep in mind the truths we know (from our first situation) and attack this situation prayerfully.  We pray for the other person or persons.  We may also pray for wisdom for ourselves in the situation for God will gladly give you wisdom (James 1:5).  But what do we pray?  Do not pray too specifically about what "you" want - leave room for God to do what He wants.  You can, however, pray for wisdom for them, for their salvation if applicable, for the enemy's influence in their lives or the situation to cease, for any deliverance which may be needed and for God to reveal Himself in a big away to them.  All good things to pray for and you may see the situation shift fairly quickly.  It does not hurt to enlist other people to pray as well.

Yet another variation occurs when things get, um, weird.

Now then, if that last sentence makes you lift an eyebrow and go "huh", don't over think it too much. However, I have no doubt that no small number will read it and say "yep, know that".

Occasionally, the enemy will make his actual presence known. And contrary to movies and TV programs, tossing salt around or trying to shoot it with a shotgun won't do any good.  What will do good on other hand is knowing the truth about who God is and who God says you are and who they are.  Now then, I am not going to get into the "how to's" of deliverance if for no other reason than to not freak anyone out who is unaware that it happens and fairly often at that.  What I will mention though is a few things worthy of note.

A common term heard is "rebuke", but it is a bit misunderstood sometimes.  Think of it this way: dog runs in from outside, soaked from the rain, and jumps up on the new chair in the living. If you ask the dog "oh get down off the chair please poochy" it is not likely going to move. However, if you snap out "Get down!", even if it is not your dog it will likely jump off the chair. The latter is a rebuke. Short, to the point, no nonsense, command. It is not a request. Nor is it phrased "I rebuke you dog!", it is merely done.

There are also things which should not be done, like do not taunt them.  Jesus didn't in the NT and He could have if He wanted to.  You are not God, do not even try - you will be setting yourself up for something you would rather not get into.  Also, do not get into a conversation with them.  When they speak, they lie. Even if it is 90% truth, that other 10% is lethal and they are VERY good at it. I know Jesus spoke with legion but if God wants to talk to them, He can. As mentioned before, you are not God and there is nothing they know that you want to or should know.

There you go, a little basic spiritual warfare stuff. Like I said, am no expert and there are all kinds of branches off of these three that could be gone into, but hopefully this bit is of use to you.  Remember, we are more than conquers (Romans 8:37) and we do not have to live this life constantly on the defensive struggling to keep our heads above water.