“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” I Peter 5:8 (NIV)
We spoke last time about the battle I faced earlier this year. What was so powerful for me during this fight was that as the enemy is feeding me negative thoughts and wanting to take me down a rabbit trail that wouldn’t end well, Jesus was whispering the lyrics of these songs in my mind, giving me the choice to sing along and therefore quiet the voice of the enemy or silence His songs and listen to the voice of the enemy. A person can only focus on one thing at a time, so whatever I chose to ignore had to leave my mental space.
This battle went on all day – literally almost every ten minutes I was having to make the choice – choose the voice of the enemy and the dead end rabbit trail or chose the song of my Savior. I will admit, I grew weary throughout the day and at times followed the rabbit trail slightly until God would remind me of the song and I would change focus so the enemy would disappear. I was winning more battles than losing, and each battle was certainly a battle.
The enemy tried one more tactic on me – if he couldn’t get me while I was awake, he would invade my dreams. I woke up the following morning after having had a disturbing dream, but after talking to God about it and giving Him the details to sort out, I finally had peace.
And that peace has stayed. The situation is done. The grace and forgiveness I felt initially has returned and not wavered. I write this today for three reasons: one – to encourage those of you who are pulled into battles. The battles, in my opinion, are positive. The enemy doesn’t go head to head with his own people. He goes after those who are making a difference for Jesus in their lives. And second, I love that our church plays the same worship songs frequently. Just as it’s important to hide God’s Word in our heart to pull out when we need it, hiding worship songs in my spirit (because music speaks to me so strongly) is my go-to when I’m fighting the enemy.
Lastly, each battle we face (and win) with God’s help over the enemy builds our muscles for the next battle. While I don’t purposely taunt the enemy, I know I’m on his radar because I choose to live my life in obedience to my Father which makes the enemy mad. And when God allows spiritual battles to occur in my life, I know He will have my back and I just need to watch for the ways He wants to help me win that particular battle, and then make the right choice.
© Cheri Swalwell 2018