When trouble comes in like a flood, the worst thing we can do as believers in Christ is start worrying. I know we usually gravitate towards anxiety when trouble strikes, but worrying is a waste of time, and it’s not the position Christians are empowered to take. So instead of relinquishing our spiritual weapons over to the devil for him to immobilize us in fear, we need to use the power we are given by the Holy Spirit and immobilize him. The choice is up to us; we can’t have it both ways—one will cancel out the other. (See James 1:6-7.)
Is faith or worry the custodian over your troubles?
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness (Isaiah 41:10).
Like many people, I wrestle with the spirit of fear, but as I mature in the Lord, I’m learning not to tolerate the pains and agony that it brings. And the good news is, I don’t have to since God gave me faith; therefore, He expects me to pick up the Sword (the Word) and the shield (faith) and grab hold of His promises. (See Ephesians 6:10-18 for the complete suit of armor.)
No, it’s not easy; things can get quite intense in spiritual warfare. But we must stand our ground; the adversary is afraid of us when we are backed by heaven.
Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10a)
I received comments from several of my readers that worry is one of their greatest threats. So, I’m going to share how I fight when under attack. I’m not suggesting you do this because you must be led by the Holy Spirit and follow the personalized plan He wants you to do.
The road God takes me down is:
- Pray!
- Listen for His promptings and obey His instructions.
- Read Scriptures that speak to my situation.
- Listen to worship music and sermons that feed me spiritually.
- Spend blocks of uninterrupted time alone with the Spirit.
- As soon as fear hits my brain, I cast it out before the thought is completed.
- Depending on the severity of the matter, I shut in and go on a fast, meaning I stay in the house and tune out all outside influences such as television and social media. I tell my family and friends only to contact me in an emergency. Then I wait———before the Lord.
One of the devil’s tricks is to make us think we can appease worry using human logic.
When I’m involved in a tight spiritual regimen, the devil leaves me alone for then. Instead, he waits to wake me up in the middle of the night when I’m the most vulnerable then he flashes a worrisome thought across my mind. The minute I become aware of what’s happening, I’ve learned to jump up like an invader broke into my home—take hold of my spiritual weapons because if I don’t get up immediately and fight, those thoughts will be harder to uproot.
All I’m saying is, do whatever the Holy Spirit leads you to do because trouble is too serious to just sit and worry.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand (Ephesians 6:10-13).
© 2021
See you next time on Paulette Talks Faith.