Our Power, His Plague

The Jewish leaders hated Paul. They called him a pest. That word translated into the Greek means a “plague or pestilence”. The English word is no where near as harsh as the Greek word. In fact, they actually could not have used stronger language to describe Paul, for he was being charged for the exact crimes for which his enemies took pride in repressing. You see, because of how Paul lived his life he was under heavy attack. And not just any attacks, but crafted, intentional and well thought-out attacks. His lifestyle made him a target who was literally viewed as a plague to the plans and agenda of His enemy.

A couple weeks ago I got hit with a major attack of the Enemy. He attacked an area of my life, that up until a few months ago, would have sent me crawling in a hole full of shame and pain. It was a strategic attack. It was calculated. It came at a time when I was on a high, fully embracing all that God had called me to be. It came at a time where I was so utterly confident that I was right in the center of God’s will for my life. I was living out my purpose and as soon as I reached that point, he launched his plan A. He launched one, of probably only two, attacks that could be powerful enough to snatch me out of the amazing place I was in and send me spiraling into an abyss of tears, sadness and shame. It was shockingly cunning and absolutely perfectly timed. Perfectly!

But that’s how our enemy rolls right? He doesn’t fight like a wimp. He comes with the TKO’s almost 100% of the time. You see, we have to realize that if we are an asset to God’s kingdom, we are also a threat to the enemy’s! When we become children of God, filled with the power of His Holy Spirit, we literally become a plague in the enemy eyes. A plague to His plans, power and purpose. Listen, our enemy knows how dangerous we are when we fully walk in the calling of who we are and so he begins to up his game. The attacks get stronger, more specific and eerily synchronized. The good thing about that though, is that if we are actually mindful, they get more obvious as well.

You see, we have to begin to pay attention to when we are being a plague to the enemy, so that we can actually anticipate and recognize his attacks. One of the reasons this last attack did NOT take me out in the way he planned it to, is because once I stopped and realized how obvious of an attack it was, it became laughable. I knew what he was doing. I knew this was an attack directly sent from the Father of lies, and in that moment I decided that I wasn’t going to fall for it. Was it easy? No! Was the fight worth it? Yes! You see, I decided to not allow the enemy to steal the moment I was having with my God. I decided to take back all the power he was trying to have over me in that situation. Now, don’t get me wrong. I cried. I cried, and I definitely saw and felt the start of a slow crumble beginning to happen in my soul. It was crazy hard and the thought of giving up was looking very promising. But you know what I did next? I got back up. I began to walk in my truth. I spoke life back into my soul. And that’s when I began to understand that anticipating His attack arrows and preparing myself with the truth to defend myself are a non-negotiable in this walk. It’s actually how we survive.

Listen. Maybe you have been making strides in your relationship with the Lord. Maybe you have been advancing the Kingdom in some form or fashion. Or maybe you have just finally began to open yourself up to what God might want to do in your life. You need to know that you have a target on your back! Signing up for the kingdom is signing up for warfare, and his attacks won’t be for the faint at heart. But, if you begin to anticipate and recognize them then you can make the choice to fight and not give into them. Truth is on your side. Greater is He that is in you, than He that is in the world. Friends, you don’t have to stay in a spiral of shame because of something the enemy may be whispering to you. It’s a strategic plot to get you off your game and on the sidelines. Determine to fight today. Determine to pray through, and center yourself on the truth of God’s word and not the cunning lies of your enemy. You’ve got this. We’ve got this. The enemy is completely defeated and we need to see this as our chance to make sure that he undeniably knows that!

Questions To Journal Through

1) Write about a time you felt intentionally under attack by the enemy. How could you have fought differently in that moment?

2) Think about that area in your life that you know is a sensitive one for you. Arm yourselves with some scriptures and truth you can have prepared to speak over yourself in case the enemy launches an attack in that specific area. Write them down and commit them to memory if possible.