Talking about “spiritual attacks” can be heard a bit. It’s easy to call it anxiety. Stress, that second coffee, to blaming it for not getting enough sleep. And sometimes friends? That’s all. God has given us a reason. We’ll be fools who don’t use them.
But you know the residue I’m talking about. The part that does not fit. I’m talking about all the creepy timing of it. The flat morning tires finally headed for that prayer breakfast. A furious argument with your spouse that erupts from nothing short of nothing right after you decide to lead your family differently. Suddenly, an icy charge of solitary, in a room full of people who love you.
It doesn’t feel random. That’s what you can feel… tailored.
Peter – A man who knew one or two things about sucking faith directly did not beat around the bushes. He says in 1 Peter 5:8, “Solely, beware.”
Beware of the words “Walking, searching.” That’s not a general announcement. It’s wandering. hunting. Lions waste no energy in the strength and center of the pack. Please take a look. I’ll be waiting. It looks for someone a little distance away, a little tired and a little distracted.
This enemy of us doesn’t know everything. But he is ancient. And he is a master’s student in humanity. He knows your history. He knows which button to press and which old wound to thrust. He knows for you, it’s a fear of shortage. For someone else, it’s a fear of being overlooked. He is a tactician of despair.
So when it feels personally… because.
Wait, are you saying this is a good sign?
Stay with me. I know how it sounds. But think of the last thing you felt assaulted by this particular brand. Now, let’s rewind the tape. What happened just before a static was entered?
Have you just said yes to God? Maybe even if math wasn’t math, I finally got my first tit. Maybe you’ve finally spoken about your faith at work. Or maybe you simply had a deep moment of peace.
We often frame these attacks as something that happens to us. Thanks to us, we are beginning to believe that they happen more frequently. We just took it for the ground.
The Old Testament has this wild story. The Prophet Elisha was essentially ruining the entire military movement of the Syrian king by prophetic revealing all his secret plans. The king was furious. He sent his entire army, minerals, tanks and lots to surround the small Podangtown where Elisha was staying.
Elisha’s servant goes out to get the paper in the morning, sees the army, and loses it for sure. “Oh, my Lord! What are we going to do?” He weeps, and perhaps feels that cold knot in his stomach.
Elisha’s answer is incredible. “Don’t worry, there is more to our side than to their side.” Then he prays for a real prayer: “Lord, open his eyes so that he can see,” and the Lord did. The servant saw it again. The entire mountainside was packed with horses and tanks of fire (Two Kings 6:16-17).
We love that part. Public. Heavenly Cavalry.
But I’ll skip the setup. Why was the Army there? Elisha was so effective in his calling he was a legitimate national security threat. The attack was a direct response to his efficacy.
One thing I’ve learned about war over the years is that the enemy doesn’t waste ammunition in the sky fort. He fires the gunpowder at what he keeps. The attack is acknowledged in a twisted way backwards. It’s a confirmation that you’re in the game. That you are occupying the territory you thought he was.
Your new peace is a threat. Your generosity is a threat. Your commitment to forgiveness is a threat. Attacks are often the desperate counterattack of the enemy against the movements God has already made within you.
That’s great, but how do you actually get to stand there?
It’s one thing to know why the storm is here. Living through it is another thing. So, what do you do when the wind feels like a paper towel and your faith feels sturdy?
Do the only thing you can do. You remember your training. And you will hold your ground.
Paul’s famous passage on the Ephesians’ armor of God is mainly about what we placed: truth, righteousness, and faith. It’s aggressive.
But there is one command purely at the moment of attack. It’s easy. “Therefore, take the whole armor of God to you, and you may be able to endure evil days, and have done everything… Ephesians 6:13).
I did it all… to stand.
Sometimes the most powerful, rebellious and sacred thing you can do is not to move forward. Don’t acquire new ground. Don’t have a miraculous breakthrough. It’s simply not moving. It is true to plant your feet and refuse to be shifted from what you know.
The enemy’s goal is not to care about you. Yesus has already resolved the account. It’s about neutralizing you. To let you sit. Release. To make quiet time skip, I feel it’s pointless. To persuade you to withhold kindness as it wasn’t going back and forth. “They won’t understand,” so to isolate you from the community.
If he can just sit you down, he wins.
So you’re standing. You tweet the name of Jesus on the grocery store line. I support opening the Bible into one poem sal, even if you don’t feel anything. You stand by sending a cruelly honest text to your friend: “Hey, this is difficult now.” You stand by wearing a worship song and screaming it.
You do the next little, right thing. And with that stubborn, rough, sexy act of status you win.
Is this really about my little life?
This is the part that blows my mind away. We are wired to see everything through our own individual lenses. My anxiety. My struggle. My victory. And that’s true. The fight is very personal.
But what if we miss a bigger picture? What if our private skirmishes are part of a much larger campaign?
Daniel’s book offers a crazy glimpse behind the curtains. Daniel prayed violently for 21 days. there is nothing. Radio silence. Finally, an angel appears and is exhausted. He said, “Look, Daniel. God heard you on the first day. I was sent out immediately; but the prince of the Persian Kingdom endured me for 21 days” (Daniel 10:12-13 KJV, paraphrased).
The prayers were answered on the first day. But the provision of that answer was supported by conflict in the heavenly realm. Daniel’s enduring prayer wasn’t just about getting his answer. It was to take part in the victory of the universe.
So you are not the only choice in the middle of the night to refuse to let go of your stubborn faith, joy and bless those who hurt you. It is a strategic act. At that moment you are taking part in a battle that is bigger than your immediate situation. You may be fighting for your child’s future. For your city breakthrough. For promises you don’t know.
Your position is not just resistance. It’s a fight reinforcement that you can’t even see.
The next time the darkness feels like it’s being pushed in, and the accusation sounds a little true, remember. This is not a random occurrence. This is a targeted response. Feel the weight of that. You are dangerous enough to guarantee special allocations.
Next, you can feel the lightness of it. The same faith that targeted you is the faith that makes you more than a conqueror. There is no need to win the entire war at that moment. You just need to stand. Plant your feet. Lift that shield up. It’s not a huge barricade, but enough for the next fiery idea.
And with quiet certainty, we know that Judas’ lion is a roaring lion while the lion wanders. And his roaring will pass through heaven and shake the foundations of your fears.
You need to stand long enough to hear it.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Mixed Reality
Emmanuel Abimbora is a creative freelance writer, blogger and web designer. He is a respectable Christian with uncompromising faith from Ondo, Nigeria, West Africa. As a child’s lover, Emmanuel runs a small primary school in Arigidi, Nigeria.
