Have you ever had periods in life where things seemed to not work out in your favor? It seemed like no matter where you turned there was another struggle or stressor present in your life. This restlessness started in one area but soon swept over other areas and it felt as though you had no control and all that could go wrong has gone wrong. You may have felt like you were under some sort of attack. Lots of times we identify these circumstances as a spiritual attack from the enemy, but who exactly is this enemy causing this attack?
We have more than one enemy at work in our lives and the most obvious is perhaps the entity we know as the devil, whom we associate with the title Satan. The people in our lives can also function as a type of enemy when we live in a world where people practice lawlessness, injustice greed, and anything anti-Christ. But the subtlest enemy we face is the person who looks back at us when we look in a mirror. Spotting the attack can be the easy part; knowing the enemy it’s coming from can be a bit more dofficult.
I feel as though I have been my biggest enemy this year. Earlier in the year I seemingly succumbed to what I was going through and I just wanted to give up. If there were anything I could do to change my experience I would have done it. Taking time to process and acknowledge what you feel and go through, but do not lose your fight and do not lose sight of the purpose for which you were born and called to. One of the tactics I noticed I use against myself is hyper focusing on the issue. When I hyper focus on what’s going wrong that’s all I see and feel and that’s a recipe for disaster. Hyper focusing on what cannot be controlled takes our sights off God and the reality that He can control it, and to our surprise while we’re going through our situations, He has!
I don’t talk about this much, but I’m living with a rare eye disease and it used to cause severe headaches, migraines, and eye aches. Medicine didn’t help and sleep was the only way I could alleviate the pain. But sometime within the last three months God has had this disease under so much control that I haven’t had a migraine or eye ache. I wasn’t aware of this because I’ve been so focused on the fact that each day I wake up I still live with this attack on my eyes, yet God has the final say, God has ultimate control, and God is doing a work in me that I need to become aware of. Instead of analyzing through a microscope, I need to zoom out and focus on where I see the hand of God at work in my life.
So, what do I do?
To effectively fight my spiritual instability there are several things I need to proactively incorporate in my life:
1. Confess my weaknesses— God can do the impossible. I have seen Him do it time and time again. Therefore, I know He can heal me of what is impossible for man to cure. My belief in His power is not a problem, but admittedly it can be frustrating to live with this condition. And that’s why I need the Spirit of God to help me in my endurance and perseverance while He does heal me because guess what, Tra? GOD IS HEALING YOU. It just may not be how you’d like.
2. Recognize God is near— God is never far away. God is close to those who are broken-hearted (Psalm 34:18). In other words, God is close to those who need Him. And God, I need You. I want to remind myself of the nearness of God and a way I can do this is to practice breathing prayer. Breathing prayer is a form of prayer that involves yo paying attention to your breathing patterns inhaling and exhaling a prayer. For example, I inhale the words, “God is near to me,” and exhale “I am not alone,” and I repeat this constantly or a minute or so.
3. Accept the grace God has given me for today— What I cannot afford to do is worry about the future and when I will be completely healed. The only responsibility God has given me is to do the work I have before me today. Nothing in the future exists just yet and only God knows the future. When I don’t know anything He knows everything and that should be my anchor of hope. The God who has good things in His mind towards me knows everything, including my future. I should accept that today is enough for me and the grace I need for today is enough. When tomorrow comes tomorrow will be dealt with.
What I’m learning is that sometimes the greatest weapon for spiritual warfare is trust and choosing peace in light of the chaos. This does not mean the trial will go away overnight and some days will be easier than others, but it keeps our focus on Him and joy can be obtained. Our sufferings are temporary, God’s goodness is eternal.
Until next time, continue to stay guided by grace,
Tra
Guided by Grace 