"When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my Lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked.
"Dont be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, "Oh Lord, open his eyes so he may see." Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses, and chariots of fire all around Elisha. II Kings 6:15-17
Spiritual warfare is all around us all the time. Usually we're oblivious to its presence and proximity to us. When we are, we can get completely broadsided and never know what hit us.
This week, I found myself in the midst of some spiritual warfare. As I fought I made two mistakes.
1) I forgot early on to pray. The thing that God urges us to do more than anything is to pray. To fight with prayer, to call on His assistance.
2) I found myself mishandling the word of God
How did I manage #2? I didn't even realize it until God used a dream to open my eyes to see what was happening in the spiritual realm. In the dream, I was arguing with the devil himself in the flesh. As I argued, I pulled out pages of the Bible to prove my point, literally. I was tearing out pages to use the words written there on. Then there was this odd cutting off point where it hit me that I was being deceived, then I woke up.
In Matthew 4, Satan came to Jesus and tempted Him by twisting the scriptures around to catch Jesus in a trap. Satan is the father of all lies, and if he can twist the truth you better believe he will in every instance. Satan is also a master deceiver.
"And no wonder, for Satan himself masquarades as an angel of light." II Corinthians 11:14
Thats how I began to mishandle the word of God. In getting frustrated, I began to pull verses out of context, symbolized by ripping the pages out in the dream.
Jaime reminded me earlier that knowing truth is hugely important. Knowing that God's word, when handled properly and in context is truth, and that we as humans don't define truth within ourselves, as philosophy likes to teach us.
"For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12
My mistake is best summed up by 2 Timothy 2:15
"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
When we do not spend time in God's word, and properly study it as a whole, we can begin to misuse the Word of God. Not only do we then begin to spread false truth, but we can also lead others astray, while causing harm to others, potentially shattering the faith of some.
Round 5 indeed went to the devil. Just thinking of him as I saw/felt him in my dream sends shivers all over my body. So sinister.
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