Spiritual attacks are commonplace
in the life of Christians; at least those Christians that are actually trying
to play an active role in the body of Christ. The majority of these attacks are
what I would call indirect attacks. Maybe the enemy can’t torment an individual
by invading their thoughts directly, but they can ind someone with access to
the individual; someone who has the individual’s ear, and use them to
indirectly attack the Christian. This indirect attack can come through a boss,
co-worker, parent, child, spouse, or any other relationship.
Inevitably or at least initially,
the attacked person will focus on the person that attacked them and not the
spirit that attacked them. For this reason, they will respond to the person
that attacked them and not the spirit that attacked them. When this happens,
the enemy has achieved his goal. Often the enemy can get more than he intended
out of a single attack based on all the subsequent attacks. Ultimately it is your
reaction that determines whether or not a spiritual attack is effective.
Moses faced such an attack in
Numbers chapter 20. Earlier the chapter mentions the people’s rebellion against
Moses due to the lack of water in the wilderness so Moses was probably
frustrated. His feelings were probably hurt. The people were tired and thirsty.
Physical challenges like thirst, hunger, and fatigue often precipitate spiritual
attacks. In verse
8, Moses was instructed to “speak to the rock over
there, and it will pour out its water. You will provide enough water from the
rock to satisfy the whole community and their livestock”. (NLT) Moses, in his
response to the indirect spiritual attack attempted through the people said, “Listen,
you rebels!” he shouted. “Must we bring you water from this rock?” He then struck the rock two times and God mercifully brought forth
water in spite of Moses not following the specific instruction to speak. Moses
reaction to this indirect spiritual attack resulted in him dying without
actually stepping foot into the Promised Land.
If there is one area in my life
where I can definitely improve it is in recognizing spiritual attacks sooner
and not just jump into “they’re getting on my nerves”, or “they hurt my
feelings”. If I can see the spiritual attack sooner, I can reply to the person
that the enemy is using in a way that will protect me and in that instance keep
them from being used any further. Instead of giving them a piece of my mind, I’ll
try to remember that, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs
up anger”. Proverbs 15:1 If
I can keep my reaction in check, I can stop that attack.
