What's Really Going On?
Isaiah 7:10-12: "Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 'Ask the Lord you God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.' But Ahaz said, 'I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.' "
Many of us face the battles and the ups and downs of life without knowing what's really happening in the spiritual realm. Stubborn King Ahaz is an example of someone who was so sure of himself that he didn't bother to inquire of God even when he was invited to do so.
That same spiritual pride is at work when we assume that everything that seemingly goes wrong in our lives is the work of the devil. It may be, but the only was to find out is to ask God. He has promised to guide us. The gift of distinguishing between spirits (promised in 1 Corinthians 12:10) is God showing us what is going on in the spiritual realm at any given time.
Many of the difficulties we experience are just natural ebbs and flows of life. For example, a woman in menopause or premenstrual distress may feel like it's a hellish experience, but it's largely physiological. Satan, however, seeks to exploit these natural cycles, and we need to be on guard. A teenager going through hormonal changes, a man in mid-life crisis, or a person with a chronic illness may battle depression. And in these points of vulnerability, the devil is quick to whisper things like, "Nobody cares"; "You're worthless"; or "Wouldn't it be easier to end it all?" Those ar the times to resist the devil and declare as the psalmist did, "Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God" (Psalm 42:11).*
Food for thought: Have you ever struggled with emotional ups and downs or something even suicidal thoughts? Ask God to show you what are really just Satan's lies.
Further Reading:
Lamentations 3:19-22: "I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. 20I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. 21Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail."
1 Corinthians 2:6-7: "We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began."
Hebrews 5:14: "But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."
1 John 4:1-3: "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world."
*Sherman, Dean. Spiritual Warfare for Every Christian: How to Live in Victory and Retake the Land: YWAM Publishing, 1990.
