The Spirits of Division are Attacking You! Are You Prepared?
I can’t recall ever seeing so may proclaimed Christians attacking each other, blaspheming God and just be outright hateful. This behavior seems worse than ever and is particularly evident on social media. Yet with the pandemic, travel restrictions, stay at home orders it is hard to tell just how pervasive it really is.
The domain of darkness is at work around you and I, in our homes, wherever we go. We are in a spiritual war which for the most part we ignore. Yet as Christians there is nothing more humanly destructive to the domain of darkness than a Holy Spirit enabled, faith-filled, praying, repenting Christian. Through him, Jesus destroys the devil’s works (1 John 3:8). The only thing Satan’s forces fear more than the vibrant faith of a Christian is the unified, collaborative, vibrant faith of a community of Christians, the Body of Christ.
For all of us who follow Christ nothing on earth is more powerful than the Holy Spirit flowing through the faith of a born again disciple (1 John 5:4). It is the greatest supernatural power available to anyone anywhere. We also know that through faith nothing is impossible (Matthew 17:20). When a Christian is full of the Spirit, he cannot stop/cannot be stopped speaking about what he has seen and heard (Acts 4:20). Not even death can silence us (Hebrews 11:4).
In the world, in our culture the War seems to be at a remarkably high level. As a Christian you may be experiencing obstacles, sickness, and discouragement. Some of which will no doubt be from your sin nature, but some could also be due to your status as a functioning Christian with the armor of God in full use.
Many Christians have been overtaken with hate, disunity, and some with evil. What conditions of their soul that allows this are known only to god? Our job is to pray for them, be understanding even if they are not. Even if they cut us off.
Our vulnerability is unbelief.
Satan, Lucifer has been alive and observing, possessing humans since the Fall. He first possessed a serpent in the Garden of Eden, in the Land of Eden. He knows us very well, and even though he and his minions cannot read our mind they can intuitively guess what we will think and do. Satan’s primary goal therefore in the thousands of his various attacks on us is to take down our faith. His primary and most ambitious goal against the church is to fragment the formidable force of united faith and isolate believers, get them to fight with each other, weakening the church and making individuals more vulnerable (Hebrews 3:12–13, 10:25). His spiritual forces are literally hell-bent on these strategic objectives and they never stop day and night to achieve these goals. (Ephesians 6:11–12).
The stakes then are extremely high in this spiritual war, so the battle takes place in relation to our faith. Satan is doing everything he can to deploy the power of unbelief against us. This is what’s taking place in all our temptations to disobedience, discouragement, doubts, distractions, and divisions. Satan has a part in many things in our lives we dismiss. Satan’s trying to weaken and destroy our faith and, through us, the faith of others.
When we give in to the temptation in social media or anywhere to attack other Christians, to gossip, malign, bear false witness we have already fallen into the trap. And it only gets worse.
So to help get our eyes on Jesus we must remember the source of our power is the Holy Spirit and Christ. Partner with someone to stay on track. Every day be intentional, pray, repent, read scripture, get off social media completely if necessary. The Spirit will help your unbelief (Mark 9:24)
Put aside distractions, pray making requests (after repentance 1 John 1:9) and don’t stop praying them. Jesus says that when we abide in him and his word abides in us, we can ask whatever we wish, and it will be done for us (John 15:7). In my life this has always been a promise I found to be true, but I’ve also learned not to lean on my own understanding regarding his timing and ways (Proverbs 3:5).
You and I are weak, far weaker than we realize. Nonstop battles with demonic unbelief are part of the normal Christian life as we are in a war. If the fighting doesn’t get uncomfortable or difficult, we are likely not engaged or doing anything threatening to Satan. But if Satan is fighting us, he perceives a threat. When you feel yourself growing weak, faint, take heart. Through the promises of Jesus, the Spirit of Jesus will help you overcome your enemy’s most lethal weapon (John 16:33).