Sometimes it’s About Your Reaction

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.