Colleen Orchanian

I have many friends who are retired police officers. There is something different about them. They are low responders. When something goes wrong, they stay calm. That's not me. I sometimes feel like a chicken with its head cut off, or the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. I don't have what it takes to be in law enforcement. It's not in my nature.

As I thought about my low-responding police friends, I wondered if one's career or vocation might, by its nature, create a spiritual weakness that Satan can exploit. I reached out to people in different vocations and asked them if they faced unique spiritual challenges because of that vocation. The consensus was yes.

Here are some examples of vocations and the spiritual attacks that are common for each:

Police officers. They see the darkness of the world daily: evil acts, violence, tragedy. They can't show compassion or weakness without risking safety in a crisis. They must always be strong, always in control, which can lead to a callous attitude toward others. They are in a high-risk job that may cost them their lives, or they may have to take the life of another. One common spiritual attack is isolation. You can't talk to anyone about your feelings or the stress of the job, and so you isolate yourself. You push down the feelings and trauma, but never get healing. Another attack is despair, which comes from daily exposure to the darkness of the world. This can lead to addiction, depression, and suicide. Another attack is on one's moral compass. There is a lot of gray area, and you might begin to compromise on what's right and wrong. The enemy's voice is saying, You can't trust God. You can't trust others. You can't make a difference because the world belongs to the devil. There is no God because He could not permit this evil. The evil will never end. Without a strong faith, these attacks can be fierce, and the person has no spiritual weapons to fight back.

Soldiers and Armed Service Members. The spiritual attacks here are similar to those for police officers. Both groups see the darkness of the world. Both risk their lives for their jobs. Many have PTSD. When you are exposed to violence and death, it's traumatic and remains with you. So much of God's law seems to be violated in wartime. How can I love the enemy I must kill? Why didn't God answer the prayer of the brother dying in my arms? How does God see my actions in war when I had to take the life of another? Warriors are supposed to be strong, but I am afraid and can't show it. It would be better for me to be dead than to continue to suffer with PTSD and to bring such anger into my family. How can I be a good Christian and a good soldier? It's not possible. I'll wait to be a good Christian when I get out. All of these thoughts are spiritual attacks that work because of the vocation of the soldier.

Therapists/Mental Health Professionals. Like police and soldiers, therapists deal with trauma and pain. They hear the trauma of their clients and feel the resulting emotional and mental pain. Satan might suggest, You can't help this person—they are too damaged. The world is an evil place, and you won't make a difference. Why would you think you could fix this broken person? Don't get too close or you will make them worse—you will do harm. The spiritual attacks of discouragement, despair, and sorrow are common. The weight of the pain of others can be overwhelming and lead to a loss of faith for the therapist.

Doctors/Nurses. It appears that they hold the lives of others in their hands. They can save a life or lose one. Imagine being a pediatric cancer doctor, watching a family suffer through the illness and death of a child. Or a hospice nurse. The night my father died, his nurse, Melinda, came to prepare the body for the coroner. When she was done, we went back to his apartment to say our final goodbyes. I left a few minutes later and met Melinda and her husband at the elevator. She was weeping in his arms. Until that time, she was so strong, but when she was alone with her husband, she could let her feelings show. It was a great comfort to me that she loved my dad so much. At the same time, I wondered how many times she had wept when her patients died. The emotional toll must be great. The spiritual attack is not the tears or the tender heart. Those are from God. It is the way we might interpret the tears. I should be strong. I shouldn't get close to my patients. It's unprofessional. If I can't do this right, I need to quit. Those are all spiritual attacks typical for someone in health care.

Attorneys. Divorce attorneys see the end of a marriage, and it's often pretty ugly. They might come to believe that a good marriage is impossible, that marriage is only temporary, you should enter into marriage with suspicion and an expectation that it won't last. They can't see the beauty of a long-term, God-centered marriage because they only see the bad ones. Estate lawyers see bitterness and greed in their clients or the surviving family. Child welfare lawyers are exposed to the evils of child abuse and neglect. They might wonder, Where is God? How could He let this happen? Some lawyers might be spiritually attacked when they have to defend what they find indefensible. They might feel the need to compromise their values to succeed. One friend had to stop practicing law because she didn't like the person she became when she was preparing for a case. She was a great lawyer, but was losing her humanity. That's the result of a spiritual attack.

Stay-at-home parents. The culture tells us our value comes from the work we do, the money we make, and the promotions we get. If we go to college and then stay home to raise our kids, we're told we are wasting our potential. We could be doing more. The goal of these attacks on stay-at-home parents is to weaken the family, and that has been very effective in the last few generations. On the flip side, moms who work outside the home also get attacked. How can you neglect your kids? You're being selfish by satisfying your own need for power and status. We must discern what God is calling us to do and then embrace that fully. If we do, the attack won't work.

Artists and Creative People. Those who have creative gifts (writers, painters, singers, musicians, actors) can be attacked through either pride or insecurity. With pride, I buy into everything good others say about me. I come to believe that I am special, which I am, but that I am more special than others, which I am not. I should be treated differently, better. Through pride, we can put ourselves on a pedestal, or accept the pedestal that others put us on. And we can be exposed to spiritual dangers and temptations that lead us away from God and into serious sin. Many actors have struggled with addiction, some even overdosing. The opposite attack is through insecurity. I'm not good enough. I am a terrible writer. So-and-so writes much better than I do. I should give up and let the experts do it. Creative people are gifted so that they bring beauty into the world. The purpose of the spiritual attack is to be an obstacle to the creation of that beauty.

Those are some of the examples of spiritual attacks specific to a vocation. You, too, have experienced attacks because of your chosen vocation. Think about how the devil has attacked you through your work. It might have caused you to leave your career. It's possible that God wanted you somewhere else, but maybe not. If we don't recognize the spiritual attack for what it is, we can surrender something that God has given us to do. And that's a loss to us and the world.

So what do we do? How can we discern the spiritual attacks that work because of the nature of our vocation? And once we can see the attacks, how do we fight and overcome them?

1. Identify what is most frustrating or difficult in your vocation. What discourages you, frustrates you, makes you want to quit?

2. How is that difficulty affecting your relationship with God? Your self-image? Your relationship with important people in your life? The answer to those questions will point to the purpose of the attack — Satan's goal.

3. Discern through prayer what God desires for you in your vocation. Is He offering you strength to persevere? Is He opening up a door to change your job or part of your job? How does God want to draw you closer to Him? You might need a wise spiritual friend to help you discern this step.

Whatever your vocation, Satan is working through it to keep you from God and from bearing fruit for His kingdom. Our mission is to fight the good fight always. God needs people in hard jobs. Our faithful witness strengthens others and draws us closer to God. Take courage! Persevere! Fight! Fight! Fight!

Questions for Prayer:

1. Think back to a past or current vocation. What was it about that vocation that allowed the devil to attack? How successful was (or is) the attack and why?

2. Which image is most distorted in your vocational attacks? Is it self-image, God's image, or other image? What can you do to allow God to heal that image so the attacks are less effective?