I had one huge snake crawling right across my chest. It startled me and I was sweating bullets….thankfully, I woke up! Same thing happened the next night except, it wasn’t a snake this time…I was falling…..falling….falling….and then I woke up in a sweat! These kind of dark…dramatic dreams…were disrupting my sleep. Thankfully, I would wake up, go to the bathroom and go back to sleep.
Several years before the “night time attacks” I had read a really great book on having a more peaceful mind. It was a Christian-based book suggesting you only watch 30 minutes of news a week but not before bedtime. It also suggested being very aware of what you watch on TV, at the movies, and what you read.
I took an inventory of such things…and the most important thing I did was turn off the news! Thankfully, I have understood for a very long time what it means to guard my mind with what I allow myself to see and hear, but somehow….the news was on way too much in our house! Even now if someone else is watching the news in our house, I watch very little of it and it is not allowed on in our bedroom at night.
It may sound crazy, but I could not be more serious about how important it is to “guard” what we allow our eyes to see and our minds to absorb. We may not think it affects us but that is the furthest thing from the truth! If you just stop and think about it….when you watch–
violence,
murder,
foul language,
manipulation,
crudeness,
and all the trash,
and you watch large amounts in weekly doses
–you are allowing yourself to be submerged in it. You are absorbing in your subconscious so much more than you have any idea you are absorbing. It is like being a frog placed into a pot of warm water. Over time the heat continues to be turned up. When it starts to boil, you don’t even realize it!
When I sit and reflect on the content of TV and movies today and compare it to even 10 to 15 years ago…it startles me! Seriously….the violence…the language…the filth….is at “high steroid” levels! I Peter 5:8 is very clear when it says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
Point of this post…….
WE have control and authority over what we allow our eyes, ears and minds to absorb. Just because our world and our culture says it is entertainment….(Satan’s subtle lie) doesn’t mean it is good for me/you/us! What you surround yourself with invariably influences you. You take the shape of what you allow in. Just like water takes the shape of the glass it is poured into…we take the shape of what we pour ourselves into. Are you pouring yourself into the world or into the cross?
When I was having those disruptive, hellish dreams…..I realized that it was an attack from Satan. Yes, it was demonic and I am not afraid nor ashamed to write about it or talk about it! Satan owns unbelievers and he attacks believers. In fact….I don’t think people are aware of our adversary, the Devil. We have one and he is real. Just because we can’t see him doesn’t mean he doesn’t exist.
The great news is….there is Jesus. Jesus….who will come to indwell anyone who asks. He gives the Holy Spirit–He is the one who gives the power and authority to combat your worst enemy, Satan. Why then, does the kingdom of darkness exert such negative influence in the world and in the lives of Christians? Because Satan has deceived the whole world, and therefore, the whole world lies in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19).
My friends, Satan is not an equal power with God; he is a disarmed and defeated foe (Colossians 2:15). But if he can deceive you into believing that he has more power and authority than you do or that he doesn’t exist at all…..then you will live as he does. With Christ…you have been given authority over the kingdom of darkness. But if you don’t believe it and exercise it, it’s as if you didn’t have it.
I have found I can just calmly say…”In the name of Jesus…get away from me!” and Satan flees. Sometimes there are multiple attacks so I might have to say it often on any given day….but he leaves and peace returns. There are times when I feel the evil one and I stop what I am doing and either pray or read scripture or do both.
I have learned the very best way to battle our adversary is to start my day with Jesus…reading His word and praying. Then I am armed and ready…and I especially have the “spiritual eyes and ears” to recognize his masquerading and attacks.
I encourage you today….take a step back and reflect…on your inner person.
Do you have a lack of peace?
Are you fearful a lot?
Are you experiencing anxiety?
Do you experience sleepless nights?
Are you sad?
Do you worry a lot?
Is there an area of your life that is spinning out of control?
Do you feel like the psalmist in 13:2, “How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?”
Take the time…to be honest with yourself……and realize maybe, just maybe you are under subtle attacks from the enemy. Maybe you are a “frog in a boiling pot” and you have been boiling for so long you don’t even realize it.
There is hope…Jesus. Call on Him for help. In some circumstances you may have to call on Him multiple times. HE is not hard of hearing. You can whisper and He still hears. Realize you have an Advocate–the Holy Spirit. And an enemy–Satan. You can see neither but you can feel both!
Choose Jesus today and allow His authority in your life to battle the enemy that seeks to destroy you!
Exodus 15:6, “Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power, your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.”