Tags
agony, anguish, counterfeit, diabolical, enemy strategy, intercession, intercessory prayer, man of tears, prayer, Satan's strategy, spiritual warfare, subterfuge, travail
What if spiritual war is real and not the carnival sideshow counterfeit? And what if the enemy is supernaturally clever? And what if he knew certain things, things like God’s ways, how things are really accomplished?
What if he knew that only when we are willing to see what God sees, feel what His heart feels, know the grief and pain that He suffers, only then can we really hear His voice in the moment that we need an answer or a word to speak? What if he knew that only when we are baptized in the fire of anguish will anything of God truly be born in us and that everything else is just flesh which he need not fear at all?
What if he were witness to the death of so many martyrs that he saw a strategy that would work: softness, comfort, ease, absolute avoidance of all pain, seeking pleasure and convenience at every turn, self-fulfillment, self-determination, self-respect, so that even your religion is all about a cushy place to land at the end of your self-seeking life, when you’ve sucked every bit of enjoyment and entertainment out of it you can? What if he could turn even the worship and the “sacrifice of praise” into an activity designed for my enjoyment and pleasure?
What if he could formulate a message that sounds really spiritual but is essentially a hypnotic spell or a narcotic drug designed to put you into a stupor like a spider does to its prey? What if he could distract you with a perceived need that one of his spokesmen says is “your call to action” so that your busy-ness is the perfect substitute for being a slave to Christ?
What if he could make Christianity all about refining your behavior and doing good to others and make you forget about expecting anything supernatural happening in you or through you? What if spirituality was expressed merely as a good show in the flesh for men to see and saying the right words but not dying daily and bearing instruments of our own death or yielding ownership of my life to the only one worthy of it?
What if he could turn what is valuable upside down and take the things that will vanish like a vapor and burn like straw and make them what we truly value? What if he could convince you that your good ideas are God’s will and God’s call? No broken heart required, no mourning or fasting or tears or pain, just an idea.
What if he could create an environment where truth is what you think it is and morality is what I think is right and pleases me? What if he could make it seem unbearable for me to go without anything for more than five minutes? What if the very words of pain, blood, tears, agony, travail, what if words like that became detestable and worthy only of suckers?
Sounds like a perfect strategy if you were looking to create a smorgasbord of tasty treats to satisfy your never-ending hunger to devour humanity.