How do we react to oppositions and attacks? Part 1

1st of April

Part 1

I believe that I could get almost as many answers as there are people on this planet earth. I will write about the different reactions and what the Bible says about it.

Where do the attacks come from? Who is sending them? Are all attacks from the devil?

Some people blame everything on God. How can God be a good God since he does this and that? They think that God is a sovereign God and think that He can do anything without paying any attention to the devil and to mankind and their behavior. Especially non-believers think like this, but also some believers of Christ. They cannot understand how wars can go on or hunger and other tragedies. How can people get sick and die before time? How can God allow children to suffer? He cannot be good since He watch women and children being raped. The questions and conclusions are many and I can understand some of them, especially if one lacks knowledge. The day that Adam and Eve fell in sin, the devil became the ruler over this world. That fact still exists. God is therefore not the sovereign ruler over the universe.

Others believe that everything negative comes from the devil and in its origin that is true even if it often comes through people. We have a quotation that we should not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Eph.6:12) This word says that we should not fight people, but it does not say that the attacks do not come from and through people. They will often come from our closest friends and families to whom we are most vulnerable.

The Bible is full of principles, laws and regulations. God will often say if you do this and that, the consequences will be so and so. Our words, our behaviors and pattern of reactions give different consequences. We should therefore think before we speak, but many speak a whole lot and tend to forget what they have said afterwards. What they have spoken, have been heard by God, the devil and by people and the three will act in different manners to the words. Words do not disappear by themselves. I have earlier written to you about the importance of words. Both the old and the new Covenant point out the importance of our speech. (Proverbs 18:21 and James 3.) It is extremely important what you say when you meet attacks and trials.

If it doesn’t itch in your ear, does not mean that it comes from the devil. God may want to test you and see what comes out of you when He squeezes you.(He does not test us with sicknesses and other things that Jesus carried for us on the Cross) If you squeeze a lemon, sour juice will come out. Who and what lives in you? That will show when you are squeezed and tested. Many believe that they can do almost anything when they are attacked. They think that they will be excused then.

Some people think that they are under a trial when they have to stand in a qui. Think of all the fights that have started there. It might be late at night and people want to take a taxi home. One tries to come before the others and one who has been drinking and carries a knife, kills the person or harm him badly. I witnessed a big group of Norwegians who tried to avoid a qui in Israel. They became very rude when they were corrected and I was embarrassed to be Norwegian and upset to see my Christian sisters and brothers behave that way. Did they expect a special favor and if so, why? When you stand waiting, your patience is tested, but you are not under attacks.

Our own actions create reactions. I work with mentally sick people and many times they cannot see that what they say and do create similar reactions in others. One person didn’t greet another person last summer. This was not only once, but every day. When the other person also stopped to say hello, the first person says that she is mobbed. Cannot see the connection. This might be the case among us so called normal too.

If another person treats you in a negative way, ask the Holy Spirit if you have caused this in any way. If you do not get an answer, ask the Holy Spirit what you should do about the situation. There is one thing you must do without asking the Holy Spirit and that is to forgive. I can almost hear the protests from some of you. “My daughter was raped and the car was stolen from my son. How can I forgive that?” You cannot, but Jesus in you can. You say: “This is a serious crime.” Yes, it is very serious and it might take some time, maybe even a long time to be healed from a trauma of rape, but the forgiveness takes a second. I have written about this before, but feel that there is somebody out there who needs to be reminded of this right now. I remember once in India. I had preached on forgiveness, but some of the listeners were really tested right afterwards. The 37 years old daughter of the house came and said that she had secretly had gotten married to a Christian man who was younger than her. Her brothers threatened to kill him and her father cursed her and promised her the fire of hell. Her husband was not only younger, but of another caste and background. You must know the culture of India in order to understand their reactions, but that is no excuse for cursing and killing. When I mentioned my message of forgiveness, they would not listen. Before they had said yes and amen.

In Matt. 18:22 it says that we should forgive seventy times seven. It also says in the same chapter that we should forgive from our heart. What is more frightening is that if we do not forgive our brother, God will not forgive us. I recommend the whole chapter to you.

You can also read Eph.4:32 where it says that we should forgive one another as God in Christ forgave us. If you emotions have not forgiven, do it again and again until you are free. Unforgiving can cause bitterness and can actually destroy a person. Many can testify about healing after they had forgiven. When you do not forgive, it influences your whole attitude towards that or those people, but most of all destroy yourself and your relationship with God. In John 13 we read that we should love each other as the Lord has loved us. In verse 35 we read: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” If we as Christians do not love, who can? We have Love living on the inside of us.

When you meet tribulations, do you react in the flesh or in the spirit? You might argue and say that you cannot think of that then. That’s a lie. We must be aware of the fact that God has given us a will to choose. We might not choose the attacks, but we can choose how we react to them.

Some people have the notion that we, Christians, should tolerate everything and think that the devil can walk all over us. That is not according to the Bible. In James 4:7 it says that we should resist the devil. Some attacks are constantly repeated since we do not resist the devil. If we get hurt by the same things over and over again, the devil has been successful. Only you and I can decide if he is going to continue.

Since our lives are full of tribulations, I will write more about this theme.

USE THE HOLY SPIRIT AS YOUR HELPER IN TIMES OF DIFFICULTIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mother Else