Last night, I had another horrible dream. This is unusual for me as my dreams are mostly funny. I sometimes wake up laughing, but not this time. A terrible thing happened years ago and it took me a long time to forgive and move forward. The dream was a recurrence of that incident and I woke up thinking that maybe I feared it would happen again in real life. The emotional pain was deep, severe. I wanted to die.
But then Jesus came and whispered, “You are feeling my pain.” At that it seemed that my horrid thoughts were put to death, or I died to them, and Jesus filled me with His peace. This reminded me of Paul’s words about suffering the loss of all things, “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:10–11) He was not talking about physical death and resurrection but about being like Jesus and dying to all that would prevent him from living the resurrected life.
MacArthur says, “Through the ages Satan has accused, besieged, and battered believers trying to prevent them from living to the glory of God. He attempts to snatch the gospel message from a person’s heart even before salvation occurs: “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.” (Matthew 13:19)
This spiritual enemy bombards God’s people with false doctrine to prevent us from growing up. God provides otherwise because He wants us to “attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Ephesians 4:13–14)
Attacks come as lies against biblical teaching, or in the sinful behavior of others, or in anything that will deceive so we cannot function as mature Christians. Martin Luther reported such intense conflict that he could almost see Satan. He was so angry that he hurled his inkwell at him. It left stains on the wall that stayed there, reminding all who saw them that spiritual conflict is real and vivid.
My dream was conflict too, not against the people in it, but against the spiritual forces of evil. For this, God says:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:10–12)
Years ago, I read this unusual spiritual discipline as a remedy when severely attacked. When threatened, go to a place alone and feel the threat, letting it wash over you as if it is happening, but do not fight it. Instead, let it come at you as if it is crucifying you — then you will be released from it by the resurrection life of Christ.
At that time, my fear was of being abandoned and when I did this, that fear died and has never returned. This time, Jesus helped me do it again, letting the sense of being deeply wounded wash over me until it seemed that I died and Christ’s life took over. I know this sounds weird, but can only say that Jesus knows how to save His people — from whatever threats we experience!
PRAY: Jesus, this week Satan’s onslaughts seemed overwhelming. But You are answering prayer and I need to see these attacks for what they are — my enemy’s last-ditch efforts to inflict damage on a conquering child of God. Besides, what I experience is nothing compared to what You went through to defeat him. I know You will strengthen and protect me, just as You have protected all Your people. This verse keeps running through my mind: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
PONDER: Read Acts 4:1–22 and consider that I need to answer Satan’s attacks the same way, by always doing whatever God tells me to do, even using any attacks to experience spiritual victory and bring praise to Jesus Christ for protecting me and being with me in the battle.
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