“Whoa, Alli,” you must be saying. “That’s like…really violent. Don’t you know you’re not supposed to fight fire with fire?”
To which I’d respond with, “Whoa, reader. How are your knees from JUMPING to so many CONCLUSIONS? You haven’t even heard what I have to say yet.”
The enemy is a nasty dude. Straight up. We all know this. Even if personal experience didn’t inform us of this, God certainly does.
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8
So it shouldn’t be a surprise when the roaring lion tries to devour us. But yet, sometimes, I find myself shocked and completely caught off guard when I run into the dreaded Spiritual Warfare. Sometimes it even takes me a while to figure out that it is spiritual warfare.
What am I supposed to do when the enemy attacks?
This past week, I had a flare-up.
A lot of you know that I’ve struggled with chronic pain my whole life. I’ve seen a lot of healing in this, but sometimes, I still flare up. Sometimes I push my body too far too fast and reap the consequences.
But sometimes my body flares because the enemy is pissed off and wants me to question all the healing I have seen. Sometimes, I’ll be going about life, I’ll fall into an old lie or an old mindset, and that will actually trigger a flare-up in my back.
It used to really upset me. Honestly, it still kind of does. When my back flares, and I can’t do the things I normally can, or pain becomes consistent for a few days again, it’s so easy to fall back into the old lies that the enemy wants me to believe. Things like, “I’m just not good enough,” or “I just can’t,” or “I’ll never get healing.”
What does this have to do with Arson? Great question, I would love to tell you.
Arson · Noun
The criminal act of deliberately setting fire to property.
The enemy is going to attack you. You are a child of God, so that’s just what’s going to happen. You are now God’s property. You belong to Him.
We know that the enemy is going to attack us, yet we do nothing about it. I see so many Christian’s (myself included) living in defeat. We look at the spiritual warfare and we say, “oh, woe is me! The enemy is attacking me! Whatever shall I do?”
What do you mean ‘what can I do‘? You’re a Child of God, seated in the heavenly places! Don’t look at what the enemy is doing. Look at what God is doing. Commit yourself to him. Surrender what’s happening and trust Him. When you (God’s Property) are on fire for God? That’s Arson against the enemy. It’s dedicated. It’s deliberate.
(If it feels like I’m Edna Mode hitting you with a rolled-up magazine, it’s because I am.)
We don’t fight battles of flesh and blood, but of the unseen realm. I know that I’m worthy. I know that I’m capable. I know that God has promised healing. I know because God has specifically told me in the Bible.
So why would I let the enemy convince me otherwise? Why would I even let his voice, his fiery arrows, anywhere near me? Why would I give him the time of day?
There is a huge difference in God’s holy fire, his anointing, his purity, and the flaming darts of the enemy.
Be Active
It’s a lot easier said than done. This past week, my flare-up was bad. I could barely switch from sitting to standing, and I ached constantly. I wanted to give up. But my friends? The community of believers around me surrounded me. They prayed for me, and then they spoke the truth over me. You have been healed. God offers you peace. Be at peace.
I was still in pain, but I made the choice to believe their words over my feelings. I chose to put my faith first, regardless of whether my circumstances matched up with it. I’m still in pain, but it’s nowhere near where it was, and guess what? Those lies, the flaming arts of the enemy that want me to believe things like “I’m worthless” or “I’m not good enough?” They don’t matter because they’re not true.
There’s only one way to fight off spiritual warfare. Stop focusing on the enemy and set yourself on fire for God.
Commit Arson against the enemy.
Do you know the first step to Arson? Planning. Start the fight with a plan in place and use these 21 Daily Biblical Affirmations!
Mmm, such a good reminder! (And so funny XD)
Thanks for reading! Glad I could bring a smile to your face 🙂
When I read the title, I couldn’t have guessed that I’M the arson target you had in mind, but that’s a really neat way of looking at it. Just, go do the things you know you should do. It really is that simple 🙂
Right? Thanks for reading!
Yes, totally unexpected!
I have chronic pain also, but it’s mostly in my shoulder and it’s caused by my scoliosis. My spine is pushing my muscles of my right shoulder tightly together, so any time I used my right arm for a period of time without breaks or pressure is applied to my shoulder or I am having a negative emotion that is making my muscles tense, I get a flare up. The worst is when I will wake up to immense pain in my shoulder cause I put weight on my shoulder when I was asleep.
The main thing I struggle with it is I don’t like my shoulder limiting me from work, which is harder since my right arm is also my dominant arm, but if I do push my limit I’ll have trouble falling asleep due to the flare ups. Or the pain in my shoulder will, sometimes without me realizing it, cause me to be snappy towards people.
Chronic pain is no joke. I hate flare-ups, especially when they limit me from doing stuff. I’m actually drafting a book about this right now! It’s so interesting to me that our emotions can affect our bodies so much.
I find that when my chronic pain flares and my attitude shifts, it’s so important to take a break, breathe, and recenter back on Jesus. Then, give myself grace for not being the most smiley-bright eyed person in the room. 🙂 Keep looking to Jesus <3 He sees and he knows. Thanks for reading!
Thank you Allie! I’ve been struggling with life problems and this gave me a way to fight all the lies that the enemy throws at me. Thank you so much, you are such a blessing!
Hey Laura! Thanks for reading. I’m so glad it helped you 🙂