One of my most vivid, yet embarrassing memories as a teenager is when I opened a bottle of orange soda after dropping it in my mother’s immaculate kitchen. It began wildly spraying every single corner of every single cabinet with a sticky, syrupy, orange mess. I remember panicking and frantically walking around the room saying, “I don’t know what to do,” as if I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss a single spot!
Isn’t that similar to how it is when we are shaken in life, and surprisingly vile emotions come bubbling up and out of us with the force of a geyser? We then start spewing our feelings onto everyone in sight, making a huge mess!
Like that bottle of pop, we can be caught off guard when it looks like everything in our lives is calm and peaceful. We may not recognize the pressure that has built up, nor do we anticipate the sudden shaking that may come our way. Invariably, however, the shaking does come, and if we are not prepared, we may not like what comes rushing up to the surface.
Isn’t it something how the enemy waits patiently to catch us off guard before he goes in for the kill? Sometimes our seasons of victory and prosperity can be dangerous when we allow our hearts to become distracted and lulled into a lethargic stupor. We feel satisfied that everything in our life is on track, and we can take a breather from all the struggles and adversity that at one time had overwhelmed us. It is at the very moment that we least expect an attack that Satan often hits the hardest and blindsides us with something shocking and vicious.
I discovered, however, that it is through those attacks that we usually find out what we are really made of. I have seen myself progress from throwing temper tantrums and giving in to seasons of depression as a young woman to nowadays just giving in to a daylong rant before I calm down. I am making progress! I am much quicker now to go to God in prayer and search His Word for my peace and for instructions to handle the situation, but imagine how much I would avoid if I made it habit of going there first?
Imagine if we all tapped into the power and authority available to us in the name of Jesus to conquer every spiritual weapon that comes against us. Imagine if we stayed on alert and recognized the attack of the enemy right away so we could pull out our arsenal of spiritual weapons and nip it in the bud instead of allowing him to get a foothold in our lives!
Unfortunately, crisis and trouble will come. It’s a part of life, and there is no stopping it. However, what we can do is be prepared ahead of time so that our response will position us for victory instead of exacerbating the situation with our automatic, emotional reactions. One way we can prepare is by watching what we feed our minds and our spirits. After all, what is inside is what is going to come out when the rubber meets the road.
It’s like this. Imagine holding a glass full of water. If you shake it, obviously, water is what is going to spill out all over the place. If you have Coke inside of the glass, Coke is going to spill everywhere. Worse yet, if the glass if filled with spoiled milk, that putrid mess will splash all around and make everything it touches stink. The object lesson here is obvious; what you are full of is what comes out when you are shaken.
At times, we may feel like we are going through a wonderfully smooth season, and we are so happy about how God is blessing us and using us for His glory. How could anything go wrong when we are so positioned in the center of His perfect will? Conversely, you may be one who is in the middle of a season of adversity and wondering when it will ever end. Either way, when we least expect it, an attack comes and reveals what we are really made of. What is inside of us as we are shaken is what is going to come bubbling up to the surface and spill out all over the place.
I experienced this recently. As I have rejoiced and passionately immersed myself into the new ministry God has directed me to begin, and as I have relished in the wonder of His anointing and blessings, I momentarily allowed my guard to be let down. Then when a surprise attack was thrown my way, I went into a tizzy! Stuff that I wasn’t aware that was deep inside my heart came rising to the surface, and I am ashamed of the ugliness that emerged. I found myself reacting out of emotion, and I hurt a few people in my path. For that, I am so sorry.
One positive result was that since I have become more full of God’s Word and have grown in my relationship with God in recent years, I was able to subdue that reactionary monster within me and let it go before too long. I eventually turned to the Bible and spent time in prayer which calmed my spirit. Turning my eyes toward God changed my perspective of the situation entirely. I then had to pick up the pieces that were shattered when I spewed at some of my friends. While all is forgiven, I grieve that I cannot unsay the things I said.
What surprised me was the source of the attack. The reason we need to be on the alert is that we may never know who or what Satan will use to try and get under our skin. The attack that came my way was malicious and shocking, and it came from a person I have respected and loved for years. Her words cut so deeply that all I felt like doing was to sling the mud right back. Yep, I sure got a picture of what was inside of me that needed to be purged. I suppose I should give thanks for that test that taught me something about myself.
Next time, I won’t let my guard down. I will stay on the alert and be prepared for spiritual warfare that comes sporadically when we are most vulnerable. I will be more conscious of what is inside my heart so that what comes out won’t spew and hit everyone in my path. It is when we are calm that we can choose how we are going to respond ahead of time instead of waiting until the heat of the moment to try and corral our wild emotions.
Paul says it so well in 1 Peter 5:8…
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
Be prepared, and the good news is that you can resist him.
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 NIV
Learn from my mistakes and be blessed!
Love,
Yikes!! This post was me yesterday. I completely lost it! This morning I am embarrased with myself. An adult tantrum is not pretty. So thankful for a forgiving Father, the submission to God’s refining (desperately needed) and a new day to continue living in Gods grace.
Amen! I am so thankful for our loving, forgiving Father! Where would we be if it weren’t for His grace?
Thank you Shari so much. I really needed this as right now we are struggling with our son and his take on the elections and the protests going on. His wopife is Chinese. The lawyer in him is coming out and even though he and his wife are Christians they seem to be leaving God out right now. We keep praying they will Give it to God because he is bigger than all of this. The hard part is the tension created in our family by it.
Diane, it is amazing how the emotions become so heated at a time like this. I blame this partly on the biased media that only paints a partial picture, and people run with the little bit of knowledge they have. This is such an excellent time to shine the light of Jesus to this world!
Amen! Well written, and oh so very true! We do have to be on the alert at every moment. The enemy is on the prowl and he is very sly and looking for an opportunity to shake us up when we least expect it! Thank you for sharing, a great reminder for myself.
Thank you, Sheree! This has been a tough learning week for me, but I thank God for teaching and guiding us through it all.
Thank you for this, Shari. It’s always nice to know you are not the only one. Maybe it’s my middle child syndrome or the abuses I’ve suffered in life, but I sometimes tend to become very defensive when I perceive I’m under attack. I jump to conclusions and say things that cannot be unsaid, only to find my assumptions were wrong. Or, I realize the person attacking is broken, as well, and struggling with his/her own demons. Hang in there, Shari. You are doing so much for so many. I know you are going to play a huge part my healing and spiritual walk and for that, I am very grateful.
Amy, thank you. Yes, I saw a defensive side that I didn’t like, and I also made some assumptions for which I am not proud. I love that we can all learn from each other through times like these. I enjoy having you as part of our Bible study group so much! You are a blessing! 🙂
Aww, thanks so much. {{{hugs]]]