What Glenn Writes

After teaching three times this past month at church and writing numerous articles on this blog about being transformed and receiving more of God’s strength and grace, is it any wonder I should be the focus of an attack from the enemy? I have recognized several forms of his feeble assaults in my relationships and with our finances, each time trusting in the Lord for His grace, and each time receiving a testimony for how good is God.

However, this past week the stakes were raised and the enemy found a chink in my armor or an area of my life I had not fully given over to the Lord.

This revelation is an interesting one for me. Once I had given over my relationships to the Lord, any attacks against me in this area were useless, as these were in the Lord’s hands where the enemy has no power. Once I had given my finances over to the Lord, any attacks against me in this area were useless, as these were in the Lord’s hands where the enemy has no power. This concept is a paradigm shift in my thinking… something I sort of knew, something for which I had a fuzzy understanding, but now the application is right in front of my face and I’m living it out.

I know some folks like to pretend spiritual warfare does not exist, that perhaps there really is no devil or demons, and these creatures are just something Hollywood made up to scare you in the theaters. Think about it: if you were the enemy, the best way to get people to stop fighting you is to get them to believe you don’t exist; the best way to make people unaware of your influence is if they didn’t believe you existed in the first place.

From experience, I can tell you it is real and they are real.

I have been in car accidents, in the hospital, sick in bed, paralyzed with pain, paralyzed with fear, covered in mud, covered in septic waste, trapped when a wall caved in, pinned down, caught under water, poisoned, completely exhausted, completely out of my mind, and near suffocating, but none of these were worse than when I was in the presence of demons.

Scripture confirms the presence of spiritual beings in angels and demons, such as 2 Peter 2:10-11, where it is recorded:

Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord.

I believe at one time I was bold and arrogant with little respect beyond myself. I was taught a lesson in the powerful nature of angels and demons. We do not have any authority in this area without the Lord. Even when there are conflicts between them, they turn their battle over to the Lord’s authority, as is described in Jude 1:9.

But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

If this is good for the archangel Michael, then it is good for me, too. Saying the name “Jesus Christ” is the only way I came away from my encounters with the enemy physically unharmed, and the only way their claim to my children was relinquished.

I don’t want to give you the impression I worshipped the devil, played around with voodoo, or practiced black magic… this would give the enemy very little reason to attack me. We don’t have to be dipping our feet in the pool in order to get wet – the enemy can splash anyone. When we are least aware is when we are the most vulnerable, and anyone can be a target.

We will do good to remember 2 Corinthians 10:3-5:

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

I believe the strongholds listed here are simply the lies of the enemy we are believing:

• God does not love me.
• God does not care for me.
• God cannot forgive me.
• I am good and I will go to Heaven.
• I am good enough.
• I can get by on my own, I am ok.
• And the list goes on, all of them lies.

In the face of these lies, I remember Romans 8:31:

If God is for us, who can be against us?

This is a crucial element to our faith in the midst of the battle or trial. We cannot let go of this one fact, for we are powerless without God… and the enemy is powerless against Him. I have known this for years, but I am finally beginning to see the application in my life.

• The enemy hates me; God loves me.
• The enemy is out to destroy anything in my life; God is out to preserve what He has established.
• Anything I have not put in the Lord’s hands is fair game to the enemy; anything I put in God’s hands is safe, in a place where the enemy is powerless.

I think I have a better understanding to what David was referring in Psalms 62:7-8.

My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

Are you being attacked? Have you taken that area of your life and put it in a place where the enemy cannot reach? Have you given it to the Lord?

This is not easy and I do not mean to make it a trivial thing, so please understand I know how difficult it is to just give this area of your life over to God – whatever area it is where you are struggling or are under attack. Just because it is difficult doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.

I encourage you to pray about the area in your life where you are being attacked or enduring a trial, and ask the Lord to take control in that area – then let Him have control (oh, another subject for another article). Contact me if I can pray with you, for you, or encourage you in this prayer.

Glenn Sasscer

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