When the Lord is about to do something great in our lives, and mostly when He is about to free us from a stronghold and deception, the enemy begins to fight harder.
The Lord wants us free, but the enemy does not.
And if we had eyes for the spiritual realm and witnessed the battles going on, we would have a clear understanding of what was actually taking place behind the scenes so to speak.
I am reminded of when Daniel sought the Lord for understanding in the Old Testament and a heavenly messenger, sent to answer him, was held up by a real spiritual enemy.
“Then he continued, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.”
Daniel 10:12
When I think back over the significant moments in my life where God was acting on my behalf and moving in a mighty way, I certainly can recall the waging spiritual battles that always took place right before what God had planned manifested in the natural.
I am very sensitive to the spiritual atmosphere and I would always feel the back and forth of these battles.
And I admit that I struggled believing what the Lord promised me would take place in the heat of these battles. It is not easy to hold onto what He already said when the fruit has yet to be revealed of His arm at work.
There is a lot of waiting after the Lord speaks to us what He will do for us. And what I find the most difficult is what to do in that waiting season.
We are tempted to not trust the Lord at that time as the enemy is literally trying all he can to pull us from our seats of confidence and assurance in the Lord.
And the fight to keep faith and belief in the goodness of God is very real.
I share this with you because I am currently waiting on the Lord in this season for things He promised me. And the wait can be sweet and troubling all at the same time.
How I personally cope with these real mental battles of my faith is raw. I will journal, I will go on a walk, I will ask the Lord repeatedly to confirm what He told me (and this I do a million times!).
I will cry out to Him when the waiting is too hard and overwhelming, and lament of my suffering and pain till He moves on my behalf as He promised me.
I will declare out loud my trust in Him and how I believe with all my heart that He will come through for me. I will remind myself often of what He spoke to me and of His faithfulness.
I will thank Him for answering my cry and telling me again what He’s already told me dozens of times.
And then a new day comes along and I do this all over again. 😉
This waiting sounds awful, but the Lord somehow understands what we are going through and He helps us in it and strengthens us when we ask Him to.
What would be to our advantage is to use our waiting seasons to deepen our relationship with God. To be willing to converse with Him more and be more dependent on Him.
Today, as I was talking with the Lord on a walk, He reminded me that the battles always grow more tense right before He steps in and His will takes place. And that brought me much comfort because for me personally, the last few months have not been so easy.
If your situation is growing more tense and you feel the spiritual battle strong, then know that it is simply a fearful reaction of the enemy that God is about to move big! Do not give up and keep waiting on Him.