I Give Up!
(Spiritual Warfare Part 4)
I am a writer. I've written 3 books and am working on the fourth. Sometimes in my writing, I have a lot of ideas but they don't make sense. It's more like a brain dump or stream of consciousness. I can get very discouraged when facing a deadline and the words are not coming easily. It's too hard. I don't know enough. I don't even know what the message should be. Does this even make a difference to anyone? I should give up. That's discouragement.
It's Personal
(Spiritual Warfare Part 4)
The last two posts were about spiritual attacks related to distortions. We have a distorted image of God and a distorted image of ourselves. Today's post is another distortion—our distorted image of other people. Whenever we have a distorted image, it's a spiritual attack. Because if we were to see others as they are—as God sees them — this attack would not work.
My God
[Part 3 of a series on spiritual warfare]
Have you ever heard someone speak about "their God?" My God is this. My God is that. My God wouldn't do xyz. Maybe you have said those words or something like it. When we say, My God in this way, it implies something. It might imply that I have created a God who agrees with me (rather than me agreeing with my Creator God). It might imply that there are multiple gods and this is the one I have chosen, when the reality is that there is only one true God, and He has chosen me. It might imply that each of us gets our own God, as if there are many to choose from when there is only one. All others are counterfeits.
Identity Theft
We often read about identity theft, where someone pretends to be you and spends all your money or sells your house. There is another kind of identity theft – a spiritual one. God wants to show us our true identity, and Satan wants to prevent that. He wants to steal the identity we have been given.
Something is Not Right
One of my favorite children's books is Madeline, which is about a little girl in Paris. In the story you will find this line, Miss Clavel turned on her light and said, "Something is not right!"
Spiritual warfare is when "something is not right" in our life.