Thursday, January 26, 2006

The Battle for Man's Soul

I think the only thing that can match the fear found in the thought of being separated from God must be the fear Satan feels when he sees a Christian pursuing the image of Christ, becoming effective and growing in his faith.

I had a guy come to me tonight and share a recent experience of spiritual oppression that left him quite disturbed and shaken. I asked whether he had been struggling with things in his life more than normal, and not surprisingly, he said that he had not been doing poorly but actually had been thriving, making major changes in life that he'd not had the motivation or strength to make before. I asked him how he felt about his walk with the Lord, and while not satisfied, he said he was encouraged by the steps he'd taken because his life was so much better than it had been years and even just months before.

While chills ran through my body at hearing his story, mostly because I've experienced similar situations but somehow forget that the spiritual world intersects with the physical, I became keenly aware and reminded of what I already knew: spiritual attacks are a sign of good things.

It should come as no surprise that our most disturbing moments in life come when things are going well. Truly, a developing Christian is a spiritual battleground, valuable in the sight of both God and Satan. When an army goes to war against an enemy it seeks to knock out it's strongholds and burgeoning areas, not it's weak villages. The same applies to the spiritual battle. Praise God, we are not hanging in the balance. Our souls have been won and paid for, and our all-loving God has only good planned for us.

Welcome to the fight, my friend. It's not an easy trek, but his burden is light and he's already won.