Know your real though unseen enemies
A conversation turns from light hearted to one where you feel a sinking pit in your stomach after a thoughtless comment. The surprise in his voice after your admitting that you did not engage in a common activity for the person with whom you are speaking and for those within their circle, seemed to scream ‘there must be something wrong with you.’ Your feelings of inadequacy overtake your sense of reason and steal your joy. Tears of regret well up at, what you now believe to be, years of time apparently wasted in response to a thoughtless word from one who never intended to slay you with that word but did so all the same.
Well-intended or not, spoken off-the-cuff or said after reflecting on how badly it could be received, you are undone as your thoughts take that word and use it to mold you into a victim. It is now multiplied exponentially, whipping you around, and beating you mercilessly; you are unfavorably compared with others, you know, the ‘normal’ ones, and you feel like dirt.
What just happened? Your unseen enemies were hard at work.
Our unseen enemies are not flesh and blood, but they can influence flesh and blood for their purposes, deceiving them, making them think they are doing right as they act in ways that are unsupportive or even downright rejecting God’s ways of gentleness, peace, humility, and love.
These unseen enemies use fellow image bearers to bring about excruciatingly painful times through an unwillingness to engage coupled with moving confidently in directions based on false assumptions believed to be true. No problem platform is off limits. At home, in the workplace, while exercising, in the political or social arenas, among friends and family alike, feelings of hopeless dread can tempt you to take matters into your own hands as if the outcome depended solely upon your own words or actions.
What if instead of beginning with your own words or actions in a faceoff with another person or with yourself, you pour out your heart to the one who can open both your eyes and theirs, bring about understanding, and make them true friends? He helps you take yourself in hand to resist fighting those who oppose you, fighting yourself, or fighting God, but rather looking to God to handle your real though unseen enemies.
Ask him, cry out to him for help to see beneath the obstacles they unwittingly place on your journey to come to Jesus for rest as they are being used as pawns to strike you with false comparisons, and that they would be given new eyes to also find the path to peace by his grace and mercy. Your unseen enemies, supernatural and more clever and powerful than humans, are no match for God.
Love those under the influence of your unseen enemies
Knowing that they know not what they do, you can love them, want the best for them, and pray that they would become as you are, one who was slain in Christ who loved you and gave himself for you. They are acting as enemies, but they are being influenced by your true unseen enemies that are stronger than human but not anywhere near as strong as the one who holds you in his arms.
Because of his steadfast love, God fights unseen enemies for his people, helping them to resist and turn from magnifying themselves to trust him rather than retaliate and seek their own vindication. Instead, you can have compassion on these who are being used for evil by default, not able to free themselves from such slave labor and not yet willing to cry out to the one who can free them.
Sing Psalm 35 as you trust Jesus to fight your real though unseen enemies as you love those you can see
As you sing Psalm 35 you get the sense that even if no one else cares for you, the Lord’s care for you is enough, abundant, sufficient for you. How intimately he knows, hears, and acts in response to your emotionally detailed urgent pleas for strength to go on against unseen enemies vying for your soul, for confidence in the face of those who seem to wonder if you measure up or who outright falsely accuse you of being a failure! Dwell not on your unseen enemies but think instead about Jesus, your best friend.
Listen here and learn how the ease of thinking of Jesus, his character, his nearness, his creative, redemptive, providential, saving work for you and his church is synonymous to thinking of whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy without having to take up and wrap your mind around each of these words continually.***
With one eye on Jesus and the other eye on his resurrection power to turn you and those on the path to death onto the path of life, “then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.” ~ Psalm 35:28
***The complete thought is from minute 35:00 to minute 38:50 with this in particular around minute 36:40.
March 14, 2022
Posted on April 6, 2022
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