rats, germs and the weak places He is strong

After years of study and reading and experience, Matt's been learning and teaching a lot on Spiritual Warfare lately. He's helping preach a series at church and in small groups, he's about to preach to a few more up North, and he's teaching the Spiritual Warfare class at Wesley in the spring. So, I'm getting lots of good teaching and studying lots of my Bible I've never really studied before...and I've had a LOT to think about! 

There are two very common places where we are especially susceptible to spiritual oppression, attacks, heaviness, temptation, frustration, etc....: places where things are broken (relationships, traumas, hurts, death, etc) and places where genuine forgiveness (of others or self) hasn't happened, for whatever reason.

This, of course, has had me thinking. 

How do you know you're dealing with spiritual warfare / spiritual attack and not just "normal life struggling?" Here are a few indicators:

-A lack of spiritual desire/hunger or desire for spiritual things (prayer, Bible-reading, good Christian fellowship, etc)

-Being spiritually or physically worn down and incredibly fatigued

-Complacency... not growing spiritually, and perhaps wanting that to change half-heartedly, but not able or willing or disciplined to make it HAPPEN or to stand firm 

-Feeling overwhelmed and helpless

-a weak prayer life

-pulling away from Godly relationships

-feeling hopeless

-battling with guilt and shame and/or old temptations, sins

-feeling rejection and/or utter loneliness (like "I'm the only one dealing with this")

-fearful, anxious thought life

-old wounds resurfacing

-negative, disturbing thought life

If you think about it, it makes SENSE that if we are being spiritually battled (and we ARE) that we would feel these ways!

Something I am loving about these studies have been two specific illustrations Matt's given, both from our time and experiences in Haiti.

One, that rats feed on garbage, and while we cannot control the rats, we CAN control our garbage. If we take the garbage OUT, the rats go, too.

Second, that we should think of darkness and evil spiritual forces like germs.  Should we focus on and obsess over germs?  No...this steals our joy and make us fearful and turn us into hypochondriacs.  But should we be aware of germs? Wash our hands? Eat well? Take care of our bodies? Of course! And when we get sick, should we recognize that germs are at play, and ramp up our cleaning and eat well and get plenty of sleep and take medicine and go see a doctor? YES.

THAT is the same place acknowledging and focusing on spiritual warfare should take in our lives. Biblically, we are under spiritual attack and living in the middle of a germ-infested world. We should NOT be consumed by Satan, or overly focused on his powers or forces (all pale in the hands of The Most High), but we should be aware and preventative and take good spiritual care of ourselves and wash our spiritual hands and stay close to our Healer.  And when we SEE signs of sickness in our lives and hearts, we should ramp it up, find the weak places, be in God's Powerful Word, be praying, invite people to help us in identifying and cleaning and praying!

So where ARE the places in my life where things are broken? Have they been brought into the light? Have they been healed? Where do I need healing, still? 

Where are the places where I'm not forgiving or receiving forgiveness? What are the grudges, hurts, disappointments, pains, angers that I am shoving down, plowing over, moving away from, that could be FREE and CLEAR?

If those are the weak places in our lives that the Accuser likes to focus on, then don't I want God to identify and strengthen those places??

As the Lord has been clarifying and helping me with all we've been studying from His Word...as I've been asking for the Holy Spirits help, He's been gently pointing to some remnant garbage in my heart and life, some sore spots, some stubborn hurts, some painful places...and I'm so thankful.  

I love, love, that those same places Satan attacks, the same places spiritual rats feed--broken places, places of unforgiveness--are also the same places the Lord LOVES to dwell and work and clean and transform. Those are the places He loves to MAKE NEW and work STRONG.

I love that those places are HIS territory, and that He's not only showing me the rinds and peels and rot that are piling in corners of my heart and life, but is also showing me that HE is there, too...ready to help me clean...even ready, with my asking, to clean FOR me that which I cannot clean for myself.

James 5

13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

James 5

Ephesians 6

13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.