If you hang around Christians long enough, you will
eventually hear the term “the enemy” used.
This is a term that refers to evil forces at work to harm humanity and
attack God’s children (the universal Church). To speak plainly, when Christians use this
term they are talking about Satan and his followers.
Spiritual attacks by the enemy can come in various
forms. They can be physical as in health
or safety problems, they can be emotional as in struggles and conflict with
others, and they can be spiritual.
The question is occasionally raised as to how to deal with
such attacks. It is a question that has
a bit more depth than we might initially think.
The first problem in dealing with spiritual warfare is that
we do not always know the source of our suffering. Yes, sometimes suffering can be demonic in
nature, but it can also come from natural sources. Because we are fallen creatures, health and
emotional problems can find their source in us.
As far as I am aware, there are only two stories in the Bible in which
the Devil directly tempts people. The
first one was Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the second one was Jesus in the
wilderness. In both cases, the person
being tempted was sinless.
Satan does not need to tempt us to do the wrong thing because
we are already predisposed to sin. We
need to be rescued from our condition not encouraged to remain in it.
There are biblical examples of spiritual attack being directly
responsible for physical problems such as in Job, but it is interesting in that
particular story that the one afflicted never learns the identity of his
tormenter. In regards to Job, it seems
God’s purpose was to bring Job into a deeper trust in Him rather than to teach
him about the spiritual reality behind his suffering.
As the source of conflict and suffering is often unknown to
us, it seems that our focus should not be on whether or not demons are causing
our suffering but on how we are to react in such times.
First of all, we should pray. Regardless of the cause of our sufferings, if
they bring us closer to God they will have been worth it. Thus, our first reaction as Christians should
be to recognize our need for God.
Second of all, we should reflect. Ask yourself, “What have I done to cause this
suffering?” If a sin comes to mind,
confess it. If you have wronged someone,
apologize to him. If you have been
foolish, start living in wisdom. If you
are doing something wrong or stupid, stop it.
However, even after prayer and self-reflection, it is
possible that you cannot discern the cause of the suffering.
Years ago, my wife was diagnosed with cancer. It was a terrible and aggressive cancer that
could quickly kill its victims. To make
it worse, the cancer came as the result of a rare form of pregnancy that caused
a miscarriage. In a matter of weeks she
went from the joy of expecting a child to being on the verge of death due to
the ravages of this disease.
The good news about this cancer is that everything that made
it so dangerous made it curable as well.
The bad news was that the cure required months of one of the most
torturous regimes of chemotherapy in existence.
It was a very dark time for us.
At one point Sasha asked me, “Is there some sin that God is
punishing me for?” I responded, “Does
anything come to mind?” Nothing did, so
we proceeded under the belief that this was not discipline for sin. If your suffering comes because God is
correcting your behavior, it is a good bet that you will know what He is
correcting.
Yet not having a reason why is frustrating to the one
suffering. How are we to proceed in such
circumstances?
We are to continue to trust God and keep our eyes focused on
Him.
The enemy would like nothing better than for our focus to be
on anything other than God during such times.
He would like nothing more than for us to think that he is the source of
our suffering and to ignore the one who loves us. He would have us look at the waves we are
sinking in rather than on the one who can keep us from sinking. Anything that takes our eyes off God is good
enough for him.
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| Jesus Walks on Water by Ivan Aivazovsky |
This is the true nature of spiritual warfare. The goal is not to hurt us temporarily
through momentary pain. The enemy wants
to hurt us long-term by causing us to focus on anything other that God. The only way to win is to keep our eyes
looking to our Lord.
Have you ever wondered why some people do not seem to suffer
much? Have you ever wondered why wicked
people sometimes seem to live a good life? Perhaps it is because they do not need to be
visited with suffering to lose sight of God.
No spiritual enemy needs to attack them because the enemy is winning
that battle.
Yet ours is not a faith that seeks mere earthly comfort. It is a faith that seeks a relationship with
a righteous God. He is reaching out His
hand to us. The enemy wants us to put
our hand anywhere else.
When you are under attack, put your hand in Jesus’
hand. Only He can win this spiritual
war.
(This article is dedicated to my former professor Dr. John Heart whose teaching helped me through the darkest time of my life.)
