“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1
One gift that Jesus gave us is freedom from the oppression of the devil. I’ve told before of my slavery to irrational fears of the dark with thoughts of “If I open that door, there will be a flaming, ugly face hanging in the air!” or “If I open my eyes, there will be a wolf at the foot of the bed with red, fiery eyes!”
These fears were powerful and palpable even to those around me who did not share them. About 8 years ago, while in Albania, the Lord orchestrated a “show-down” with these fears, and as I wielded the Sword of the Spirit, using Psalm 23, those fears were vanquished, and I’d not been troubled since–until this fall.
Then while living in Germany, Barbara stayed with her aged mother about 6 nights a week to help her with going to bed and getting up in the morning, and on those nights, when I am home alone, those irrational, powerful fears began to return. Not as strong as before, but still compelling.
Psalm 23 again was effective against them as I prayed, “‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.’ Lord, even if such a face should be there when I open the door, I know that you are with me and would help me.”
With the Spirit’s help, I was winning, but the fears kept coming—until one night. That night as I got up to go to the bathroom, intentionally not turning on the lights in order to face these fears fully. Just as I was opening the bedroom door, a new thought came. “Do you know who’s actually on the other side of this door?” I paused and then answered the question: “Jesus!”
Wow, that thought was like a precise atom bomb that blew my fears to smithereens. I was immediately freed, and have had no reoccurrence since! Now every time I open a door in the dark, I think: “On the other side of this door, waiting for me, is the Lord Jesus: my Rock, my Salvation and my high Tower!”
As Psalm 68:6 says, The Lord “leads forth the prisoners with singing, but the rebellious dwell in a sun scorched land.” The Lord desires to free us from the corruption of sin and the traps of Satan. May He help you in your struggles as He helped me in mine through meditating on and wielding the sword of the Spirit, obeying the Word.
He always wants to work hand in hand with us in this. When we obey, cooperate, and use the Word, then He moves, just as He did with removing the pagan peoples from the promised land so the Israelites could live there.
The Israelites still had to strap on their swords and fight, but God was the One who actually cleared the land for them. And so, He fights for us as we obey what we know to be true.
Prayer: “Lord, I praise you that you are the all-powerful One who has defeated Satan, sin and self. Help me to dwell in the shelter of your Word that I may rest securely in the shadow of your Almighty power and protection. Amen.”
Picture: strapping on our spiritual armor to stand firm!
