I’m baaaaack!

Nearly three weeks, countless troubleshooting hours, one new router (and a hundred dollars) later…

The blog is no longer on the blink!

Victory!

It’s a spiritual victory, because it was a spiritual attack.  I sensed this almost immediately.  My sweet and computer savvy husband spent an hour and a half trying to fix the problem the night it presented itself, without success.  The next morning he left town on a week-long business trip, and there the blog sat, silent and impenetrable.

When every other website works but yours, and everyone else can access it but you, it’s bound to feel somewhat personal.  It was too specific and too strange to be coincidence.  It took Chris another week after his return to isolate the problem.  He still says the whole thing doesn’t make sense.

But bring up the topic of spiritual battle, and people start to squirm.  I feel a little awkward addressing it myself, mainly because of misconceptions I’ve had about the subject in the past.  Can I share a few of my thoughts and fears with you?  Here goes…

Maybe I’m just weird.

I worried that if I mentioned the possibility that a certain situation might be spiritual (or, dare I say, demonic?) in origin, some may think I was losing my grip on reality.  I’ve come to believe that the opposite may in fact be true:  I’m actually more in touch with it.  The spiritual realm is REAL.  Just because we can’t see it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.  The Bible makes this clear in Ephesians 6:12:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Jesus referred often to the spiritual realm, confronted demons and had a face-to-face encounter with Satan.  Call me weird, but I happen to like the company I’m in.

I must have done something wrong. 

I used to think that if I was experiencing a spiritual battle of some sort, that I was being punished or had done something to bring it on myself.*  But in recent years, I’ve discovered that rather than it being an indication that I’m doing something wrong, it just might be an indication that I’m doing something right.  The story of Job certainly gives biblical support to this theory:

“Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job?  There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” (Job 1:8)

He was attacked because he was righteous.  I’ve noticed that spiritual attacks often occur in my life after I’ve taken a step of faith to move out of my spiritual status quo.  When we transition from a defensive posture to an offensive stance, we become a threat to the enemy and hence, a target.

I’m powerless to do anything about it.

In the past, I would cower in fear at the mere mention of Satan or the suggestion of demonic influence.  I was passive, paralyzed.  Now I know that rather than assume a victim mentality, there are things I can actively do to fight back.  I’ll mention just a couple here:

Resist.  “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)  We are told to flee temptation (see 1 Corinthians 6:18 and 10:13), but to resist the devil.  I think we tend to get this backwards: we try to resist temptation while fleeing from the devil!  No wonder we end up defeated on both fronts!  1 Peter 5:8-9a expands on the importance of resistance:

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith…”

We are not to be intimidated, but rather, stand our ground.  I was determined to keep blogging, even if I had to get creative to do it.  I wasn’t going to let this silence me.

Wield the sword.  Ephesians 6 lists the spiritual weapons available to believers in Christ.  “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (verse 11)  The Bible is our sword, the offensive weapon which pierces the enemy’s lies:  “Take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”  (verse 17)  Jesus Himself used this weapon as He was being tempted by Satan in the wilderness, responding three times with: “It is written…”  (Matthew 4:1-11)

Years ago, while preparing to embark on a mission trip to the former Soviet Union, I was involved in an intense spiritual battle which led to paralyzing fear and panic attacks.  Victory was eventually achieved after I covered the front and back of an entire sheet of paper with specific Scriptures, written out word for word, combating every fear the enemy could possibly throw at me.  He retreated, no match for the power of the Word of God.

Tonight I am once again doing a victory dance.

And you know what?  I’m not weird, I’m wise.  I’m not doing something wrong, I’m doing something right.  I’m not powerless, I serve an all-powerful God!

Woohoo!  It’s good to be back!

“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

* We must be careful not to confuse spiritual attack with spiritual discipline, which is a loving Father’s response to, and a consequence of, persistent sin.