Have you ever had a day when you felt uncomfortable or uneasy and could not understand why? Have you felt like there was something going on around you, but could not pinpoint it? This could be due to you feeling the activity in the spiritual realm. We are spiritual beings in a physical body so our discomfort may just be connecting to the other spiritual components that are around us. This uneasiness has a term and I have learned it to be spiritual warfare. When I feel uneasy I seek God and pray. I’ve learned to take time in those moments of being uncomfortable to hear what God is saying and to work on myself. Personally, the best thing that I can do when feeling disturbed is to pause and be more mindful about what is occurring in me as well as around me and to let God reveal what it is He wants me to do. We should seek God on if this feeling is a resulft from our flesh, spirit, or demonic influence. The bible talks about this non physical fight in Ephesians Chapter 6:10-20:
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Again, we have to remember that we are not fighting against flesh and blood. It states in Ephesians 6:12 that “ our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers against authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of even in the heavenly realms”. It is easy to get caught up in the physical components that are around us. Since people are in the forefront and often the center of our lives we can get distracted by what we see them doing. As believers we should not get caught up in the physical things that we see. This can be very hard because we can internalize everything around us without taking a step back and getting the proper perspective along with getting to the root cause of what is occurring. The spiritual realm is attached to most things that occur in our lives. Some examples are financial issues, sickness, death, marital issues, addictions, rebellion, strife, discord, and much more. Attacks that occur from those around me are from those usually close and this makes it even harder to ignore. This is because of the emotional attachment and how much I have given my heart towards them. Although my desires at times is to remember Ephesians 6 it can be very difficult. This is because I do not want to face the reality of the true fight that I am in. It is best to begin asking the question why is this person acting this particular way toward me and what is influencing them? Most struggles that I have faced God has shown me an internal battle that they were facing and what I needed to pray for. People can project their issues or battles on you without realizing it. It would be easy for me to get comfortable in believing that spiritual components are not fighting against me, when I should actually be putting this in the forefront of my mind. I encourage you to read this excerpt as a reminder and to know the equipment that God has given us to fight as well as what we are really up against.
The good news is that we are well equipped to handle those spiritual attacks that come at us, we just have to remember that we have our spiritual armor and utilize them.The key is as it says in verse 10 is to be strong in the Lord and in HIS mighty power. When we use our own strength and neglect that power that is within us is when we “start” losing the fight or giving those schemes the upper hand. One of our greatest weapons to use is the word of God and we have power in Christ to trample over the enemy. Hebrews 4:12 shares that “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” This scripture is powerful because it shows us that not only is God’s words alive and active, but it can be utilized to penetrate the deepest parts of us and this is where we need God’s word to be to assist us with our thoughts and attitudes while the enemy is trying to steer us away from the very thing that keeps us close to God and walking in His power. We have all that we need through our salvation in Christ. Remember what God says about you which you will only know through prayer and reading your word. Prayer is also how we fight along with our truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, the word of God, It is our personal time with him where we will gain more knowledge about the power we possess. When I read the scriptures I immediately feel empowered and remember how much God is on my side. Go and fight and remember that Jesus Christ is on your side!