“So Satan left the Lord’s
presence, and he struck Job with terrible boils from head to foot.”
Job 2:7 NLT
The further along I get in my
faith journey, the more I learn that spiritual warfare is real.
Today I turn in my manuscript for
my first traditionally published book, a Christian nonfiction book on
transforming our thought lives. For the past three months, I’ve been under an
increasing level of spiritual attacks as this book is prepared to make its
debut in late 2019.
It didn’t help that I attended a large
Christian writers and speakers conference two weeks ago. I enjoyed fellowship
and worshiped God with over 700 other women from around the U.S. and the world.
Last year when I attended, I experienced spiritual attacks in my relationships,
health, finances and marriage, in a clearly defined thread before, during and
after my trip. It’s been just as difficult this year, except the after-event spiritual
attacks have appeared in a fierce triplicate form.
The more you do to advance God’s
kingdom and display His glory, the more you can expect vicious, cruel and dirty
spiritual attacks from an enemy who hates you with dark malice. I’m sure he’ll
be spitting in my face just for publishing this post today.
When you are attacked, it truly
wounds your spirit. That’s the point. Defeat you or disable you so you can do
less in service to God and others. But that’s exactly when you need to stand
firm in your faith, to prove that nothing can take down a devoted Jesus
follower.
If any person in history deserves
the unwanted prize of “Most Suffering from a Spiritual Attack,” it’s Job. This
righteous, godly man did nothing to warrant losing almost everything he valued. Graciously, God gives us a behind-the-scenes
glimpse into Job’s story. The real battle was between God and Satan, not
between Job and the nebulous powers of “fate.”
We can learn several powerful
lessons from Job’s spiritual attack that will help us stand firm in our own
struggles.
1.
God is in perfect control.
God allowed and controlled
everything that happened to Job. This is a hard truth to accept. God knew
beforehand that Job would lose his wealth, children and health, and still
allowed the spiritual attack. He knows the heartbreaking losses you will suffer
too. What matters most is that God completely controlled the timing, level and
duration of Job’s losses. He does the same with yours.
2.
Our suffering glorifies
God.
All of heaven’s angels
were watching Job’s spiritual attack with great interest. They are watching
yours too. In ways we will not understand until we get to heaven, some of our
suffering is primarily intended for a heavenly audience. God gets a special
kind of glory when we still choose him despite our suffering. He is certainly glorified
on earth when we make that choice, but it also matters in the unseen spiritual
realm in ways we can’t fathom.
3.
We can issue as many
complaints as we wish to God himself.
God doesn’t expect us to
enjoy the suffering of spiritual attacks. The majority of the book of Job records
his laments. He gets raw and gritty with God, demanding to know why he was even
born. This is not sugar-coated, surface-level faith. This is real, vulnerable
belief that bares itself before the creator of the universe. God seems to crave
(and reward) this kind of honesty; I know this firsthand. As long as we vent our
complaints heavenward, we won’t overburden our loved ones (though sharing with
a few supportive friends is definitely therapeutic). We’ll also cultivate a stronger
relationship with God in the process.
4.
We can praise God during spiritual
attacks.
One of the most affirming,
faith-filled verses in the Bible comes from Job, when he was still laying in
ashes and scraping his infested boils with a pottery shard. This broken man
said, “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the
earth at last.” (Job 19:25 NLT). He had longed for a mediator (16:21) and predicted
the coming of the ultimate Mediator, Jesus Christ. His praise during suffering
is inspiration for all of us.
5.
God always wins.
At the end of Job’s story,
God blessed Job for completely trusting God through a time of unprecedented (and
still unmatched) suffering. He proved the enemy wrong, as he wants to do in
your story. He will reign victorious over your spiritual attacks if you depend
on him to equip, empower, strengthen and comfort you.
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5 Ways to Stand Firm During Spiritual Attacks
Have a wonderful weekend!
Blessings and God's peace to you,
Photo from Canva.com
Reflection questions:
1. When was the last time you experienced a spiritual attack?
2. How does Job's story inspire you?
I love this line, Sarah: The real battle was between God and Satan, not between Job and the nebulous powers of “fate.”
ReplyDeleteIt's so easy to lose focus in life, because your first question makes me realize that many times I don't associate a lot of the hard things as spiritual attacks. They are though. It's no coincidence that the hardships most often happen when we're really on fire for God.
Great post - as usual! Love reading your stuff. ;-)
Hi Ashley--thanks so much for reading and commenting! Yes, I do believe that when we are following God closely, we will face MORE attacks, not fewer. Blessings to you!
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