B-R-R-R-R-R-ING! The telephone beside the bed jarred me awake in the wee hours that cold December morning, just a few days before Christmas. Before I even lifted the receiver to my ear, I knew this call had to do with the battle...
I will return to this story...
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12
It is so easy to forget where the real battle is. It is so easy to become angry at other people, when in reality, they are not our enemies. Think of the person on this planet you disagree with the most. Maybe some well-known world leader you think is dead wrong (and maybe they are dead wrong). That person is not your enemy. Maybe it's someone who has hurt you in a personal way, or hurt your family in a personal way. That person is not your enemy.
Satan and his demonic followers are the real enemies. Sometimes it's hard to remember who you're really fighting, because you can't see Satan, but you can see the problems he creates. Satan and his demons would love to distract you by making you mad at other humans while they continue with their dirty work. What is their dirty work? Jesus said in John 10:10 that the thief (meaning Satan) comes to steal, kill and destroy. We also know from John 8:44 that Satan is a liar, and the father of lies and has no truth in him. From the very beginning, in Genesis 3, Satan has been getting people to doubt God. He has had thousands of years to perfect his methods. An example was given to me that compared demonic attacks to police profiling. Police have profiles of different types of criminals that they use to catch criminals. The enemy can't read your mind, but he can profile God's people, and perfect his attacks to hit you just the way he needs to render you ineffective. He wants to keep people out of the kingdom of God, but once someone is a believer, he wants to ruin their effectiveness. And he's had a lot of practice. If you've ever felt a very personal attack, you are not alone. Satan has done this to Christians all over the world, all throughout history. People don't really change. It comforts me to imagine someone hundreds of years ago serving the Lord, being hit with a similar dart to the one I might have been hit with, having the same struggle, and yet moving forward in victory anyway.
If the last paragraph scares you, take heart. There are several things to be encouraged about. First of all, there are twice as many angels on God's side as their are demons on Satan's (see Revelation 12:4, which is about how 1/3 of the angels followed Satan at his rebellion. This mathematically means 2/3 stayed with God, leading us to logically conclude that the ratio of angels to demons is 2:1). Second, Jesus has all the power (Mathew 28:19). Third, Satan will ultimately lose and be thrown into the Lake of Fire forever (Revelation 20:10). Fourth, Jesus has already won over the powers of darkness (Colossians 2:15--He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.). Fifth, we have the armor of God to stand against the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:11). Sixth, if we are submitted to God, we have the authority to resist Satan, and he has to flee (James 5:7).
Back to the first paragraph I started out with, I received an early-morning call. It turned out to be from a teenager girl from my church. Two days earlier, I had given her a new Bible as an early Christmas present. She already had my phone number, but for reasons I didn't even understand, I felt compelled to write my home number on the inside cover of the Bible. As I handed it to her, I said (again, not sure why), "If you need anything, you can call me any hour of the day or night." I didn't expect anything to come of it, but I only had to wait two days. The call ended up being from this beautiful young woman. She was crying, and told me they were being attacked.
Instantly alert, I sat up in bed. "Attacked?" All the previous day, I had felt a deep oppression in my spirit. I felt condemnation. My brain was awash with guilt for ways I could have done certain things differently in past situations (even if those things weren't sinful). Voices from people in past battles told me I wasn't good enough and never would be. Certain things that hurt me long ago became present struggles again. I couldn't breathe. So now, hours later, after only a little bit of fitful sleep, I was instantly wide awake, feeling validation. Something real was going on.
The gist of the story was, this girl from church had a friend spending the night, and this friend started manifesting a demon, and confessed to being a witch, having asked Satan to control her life. I ended up going down there. It's hard for me to describe everything from that time, but Jesus was victorious, and this demon (whom I did see) knew he was defeated. The Holy Spirit had the power in that room. I know there were angels in there, outnumbering the demon(s). I felt boldness I didn't really possess, but it was the strength of the Lord, spoken of in Ephesians 6:10.
After the victory, I went home, and was suddenly exhausted--for weeks. I struggled with overwhelmed feelings I couldn't explain, and complete fatigue. But God had been that strength when I needed Him to be so much in that battle.
We don't always know the battles we're winning. Sometimes, all we see is the battle in our lives. C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters give an insightful quote about the troughs (valleys of difficulty) and peaks (times of goodness): “Now, it may surprise you to learn that in His efforts to get permanent possession of a soul, [God] relies on the troughs even more than on the peaks; some of His special favorites have gone through longer and deeper troughs than anyone else... It is during such trough periods, much more than during the peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be... He wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles.”
Those moments of difficulty that seem like defeat are actually victories in God's eyes. I remember during one of the darkest times of my life, someone on the radio made the statement that we see in parts, but God sees the whole story, and I clung to that for all I was worth. If you are feeling defeated today, take heart. Jesus has overcome, and so will you. For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. (First John 5:4). Don't quit before the miracle! God has plans for you!
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