Knowing Your Enemy

Have you ever been upset about something and you are not sure why?  I had that feeling yesterday, and it really bothered me.  I mean, REALLY bothered me to the point that it was ruining my day.  But no worries, I will keep my personal stories to a minimum that way you will continue to read my post.  Plus, it gets better, so read on! =)

We had a meeting at one of my jobs today and my pastor (who is my boss) had a few different people on the leadership counsel talk life with us.  Two of the messages that were given really hit home with me.  The first one was talking about how we are often times in a state of unrest when we are not doing what we are called to do.  I was like, “Well, of course!”  I do believe that I am where God wants me to be right now, but it was not always that way and sometimes I wonder if I am not in the right place.  That was the first detail that struck a chord with me, it was a Captain Obvious statement for me, but one I needed to hear.

The second message that really hit home for me was when our Pastor mentioned the idea of knowing your enemy.  Being that my mind goes on side tangents, I was thinking, “okay, so this is how Satan operates.”  Then I dove a little deeper, and was thinking, “how does he operate against ME?”  Of course I was so focused on being frustrated about my migraine that I had and frustrated about other life life details that I forgot to actually try to think of the ways that he attacks me in particular.

So I got prayer after the session, and being that I had a massive headache, I was not exactly lucid and did not give intelligent answers when he asked me questions (Ironically, about the first point that hit home to me).  Having stress and headaches is not good and rarely equals good results!  So I walked away frustrated wishing that I had given good answers and no headache.  Back to work I go…

I get on the road (which I really enjoy), and I am talking to God in my empty car trying to make heads and tails out of what I just heard.  Then I thought, “what really bugs me?”  I started to cycle through my head, and remembered ignoring a friend’s judgmental remark that annoyed me.  It did not hurt me or offend me, but it was something that was not life giving and served no real purpose.  I ignored it because I did not want to give negativity any sort of root in my life.  Then it dawned on me, THAT was my enemy.

When we look at our lives, often times we get hit the hardest in the areas that we are strongest.  Since I score high on encouragement in spiritual gift assessments, Satan is aiming for my morale.  That is exactly what he was doing.  Whether it was my car being in the shop, losing my phone, a wounded person’s insensitive remark, listening to too much sarcasm, or being in a negative atmosphere too long, I realized that it was changing me for the worse.  So immediately, I began praying aloud and praying against it.

Did it get better right away?  Yes, for a bit.  But you better believe that trouble came back quickly.  Luke 11:24 says that when a impure spirit comes out of a person, it returns with seven more (paraphrased).  This is why it is important that we ask God to fill the spaces in our lives where evil once was, because evil will want to return to it’s former home.

So this is why we must first IDENTIFY what it is, and then OCCUPY it with the Holy Spirit.

This is why I asked God to occupy those spaces quickly and to help me make better choices about who and what I allow into my life.  Even if it may look innocent, it could have a very bad long term effect.

So to conclude the story, my drive home was refreshing because I had a better grasp of who my enemy was and how he operates.  The cool thing was that after I identified the tactics, I was able to see around him and see how he was trying to stop me from reaching my goals.  It does not always improve my circumstances, but it helps me gain understanding and see what it is that he is trying to roadblock me from getting to.  By the way, I was able to get a better grasp on what was on the other side of the roadblock and get some answers to my Pastor’s questions… but that will have to be a story for another day =)