People

Day 2, Spiritual Warfare

Day 2, People

              The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 1 John 3:8 (NIV)

              I let my husband read the letter I planned to give. Now, I’m usually the voice of reason in our home and he tends to go the opposite way at times. He sat down beside me. “You can’t give him that letter. It’s really mean.”

              I let the shock sink in. Mean? This was my third and most watered-down attempt so far. It was filled with facts. Ways he hurt me and my family. There was no nice way to handle this. Direct was the only way. But when my rough around the edges husband said it was too mean, it was definitely too mean.

Prayer needed to happen. I pulled out my journal and talked to God through my words. The more I wrote, the angrier I felt. I thought talking to God was supposed to make me feel better. 

Finally, I paused and let the tears fall. All these years I had been blaming him for the outcome of a situation, but he was only one part of the bigger puzzle. Years of unforgiveness, bitterness, and avoidance hit me like a ton of bricks. I had not forgiven him and had allowed his actions to control my brain and heart for too many years. My heart softened in that moment as I finally let him off the hook. I asked God to soften my heart toward him and to teach me how to pray for him instead. I also asked God to forgive me for allowing anger to control my thoughts and motivations for too long. The enemy gained a foothold in my life. And for years, I’d allowed the door to remain open.

I did finally give him a new version of the letter that was written from a place of forgiveness and I met him in person to discuss it. He knew the pain he’d caused in my life, but he also knew he had to wait for me to come to him once I was ready. God worked in both our hearts over the years and we were both different people. But something he told me struck a chord. The fact that you’ve talked to me, worshipped in the same room with me, and acted like everything was fine shows what a big mask you were wearing. It’s scary that you were that good at faking it.

It is scary that we are all so good at faking it. Unforgiveness, jealousy, envy, manipulation, abuse, adultery, addiction, bitterness, anger, fear, rejection—we have gotten really good at playing the game of life and pretending none of these things are plaguing our minds and hearts.

And what’s even scarier is that when we hide, we become the devil’s weapons. He loves it when a Jesus follower allows hate to influence and direct their path. Or when a wife hones in on all her husband’s faults and cheats on him with someone else who seems way better. Or when we feed the jealousy so long we destroy friendships that have lasted for years. When we feed our sin, whether consciously or not, we are fighting for the enemy’s side.

Do the Heart Work

1.      What issues or emotions have blinded/stunted you for too long?

2.      How can you make sure to fight for God’s team with your emotions instead of the enemy’s?

3.      Is there anyone in your life you’re avoiding? Why? Is there something unhealthy you’ve allowed to grow between you?

Digging Deeper

Read 1 John 3:1-10 (NIV)

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

This passage of scripture isn’t telling us that if we sin we are no longer his children. Instead, John is telling his audience that when we continue in sin, that’s when we have a problem. When we stop seeking Christ and start feeding our sin, knowing it is leading us away from Christ, that’s when the enemy likes to sink his talons into us. But we must remember that when we sin—because we will mess up—we need to surrender it Christ and not allow it to sit inside of us and fester.

If You Get Spare Time

              Examine yourself. Is there anger? Fear? Rejection? Bitterness? Unforgiveness? Is there a hidden issue? Addiction? Habit? Sin? Why are you doing the things you do? For others? Self? God?

              Whether we mean to our not, if we don’t deal with sin in our lives, it grows. And grows. Until it corrupts our thinking and we start fighting for the other team totally unaware.

              How’s your mind? Is there someone at work you are angry with? Have you let it corrupt your heart? Don’t wait to deal with it or you could find yourself on the wrong team.