I heard sermons about satan, the devil, when I was growing up. Going through life I just didn’t want to believe he was real. I didn’t want to believe that kind of evil existed in the present. Over time, I saw satan as merely a fictitious boogeyman and nothing more.
Once I began to think this way I became blind to what was evil and what was good. The line between the two began to blur. I became blind to the warfare that is always going on between good and evil. How does a person join the military if they don’t believe the enemy of their country even exists? I began to walk through life as if I had no opponent looking to take me out. I became blind to the very dark powers looking to destroy me.
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 NLT
Satan is a real adversary that is not just a him but a them. There is a whole gathering of demonic evil spirits hungry to destroy what is good, fragile, and beautiful. They work to twist God’s words and creation and smother it and defile it. They are directly opposed to God and they loathe Him and they want to get to us, His children. There is a real evil in this world that is so dark its hard to comprehend it exists. This is not meant to frighten anyone, but to wake some people up. This spiritual warfare is real and satan is our adversary.
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 NLT
After returning to the Lord, I experienced some very dark nights living alone in my home. It felt as if the open spaces in my home had somehow gotten darker and I had trouble sleeping. Some evenings it felt as if someone was watching me. Then there were nights I had very disturbing nightmares. It’s interesting how evil seemed to have left me alone before, but now because I had gone back to my Heavenly Father they were pursuing me.
When I would lay down at night I got so scared, but I began to pray to God. I prayed every night until I fell asleep. Some nights it seemed I prayed for hours before sleep came. After some time, I began to sleep well at night and the nightmares stopped. I still continued to pray, but was no longer motivated by fear. I really wasn’t alone. I had never been alone. God was always in control.
I learned to not be afraid of the dark. I finally felt safe, but really I had always been protected. I just needed to understand that my Heavenly Father had my back. That Jesus had the authority. The Holy Spirit had not abandoned me. I had to walk through this dark valley with Him.
After that experience and a few others like it, I can really say the name of Jesus has power over dark and evil spirits. They come after us because they want to torture us, but God’s power is so much greater. The power of demons is all smoke and mirrors. It’s very scary, but they really can’t take us away from God (Romans 8:38-39). As believers we belong to Jesus who has authority over all heaven and earth including any evil spirit (Matt. 28:18).
After what I have gone through, I have grown closer to the Lord in my relationship with him. I now really know where to turn when I am afraid. I am not totally and perfectly without fear, but now I can actually encounter evil without flinching. Prayer has power because we pray to a God who is powerful and who hears us. There is power in the name of Jesus.
God had to show me how real this spiritual war is. Evil is constantly roaming this earth looking for people to prey on and believer’s are no exception. However, we are no longer prey as we once were. We belong to God now who’s goodness overpowers all evil. His love for us cannot be broken. There is no power great enough to take us from Him (Romans 8:38-39).
Reading scripture and knowing it is powerful when you are afraid and you feel alone. As a believer you are never alone. There is a reason Jesus recited scripture when he was tempted by satan in the desert. God’s word is like a sword. It’s our weapon.
My story is not meant to frighten any believer, but to encourage them.
If you are afraid of the dark like I was, remember: Psalm 139:12 (Day and night are the same to God)
If you have doubts that God is all powerful: Isaiah 40:28 (The whole chapter is good)
If you doubt that God can protect you: Isaiah 45:18
If you doubt that God is really there to help you…
The authority of Jesus…
