How do you deal with something that people don’t believe exist. Or that you’ve seen and heard, but people think aren’t really there. I’m not talking about ghosts. My family, unfortunately, is dealing with darker things that hang on with tentacles and growl in the dark. How do you address something that the Bible hardly talks about? How do you fight something that you aren’t even sure you understand? Have I mentioned how much I love the fact that I can now go and research all this, from a Hebrew view, no less!
Last night I was speaking with my mother-in-law about some of the things my brother-in-law has been going through. They grew up in Hawaii, and there’s a massive amount of demonic activity there because of the practices of its original inhabitants. And he was harassed a lot as a child… now he’s having to deal with getting rid of the demons that he dealt with as a child, and it’s not easy, nor is it pretty. As we’ve been dealing with this (my husband is really close to his brother), we’ve found out more, including about some of the curses leveled at the men who fought in Vietnam, which his father did (and seems to be living proof of those curses). It’s probably surreal to some people, but I’ve seen things manifest through people I know. When I was pregnant with my first son one of those things growled at me while I was in bed one night – like a dog growls at someone it doesn’t like. The suggestion that perhaps part of Mr. G’s problem with speech could be spiritually related made me furious! Not that it was suggested, but that something would mess with my little boy! It certainly lends truth to the saying about not making mama angry. Well, I don’t know if that’s what’s going with G. or if it’s just nature. But I do know that I refuse to stand by and let anything harass my littles the way that my brother-in-law was harassed! So, last night I had a conversation with God and I told him that if he would teach me, I would fight. The gauntlet has been thrown. And if it’s made of metal, I’d like to slap a certain prince of the air with it. However, I know that my strength only comes through YHWH and without Him, I’m toast. So, lead on! On a side note: Here’s an excellent post by Skip Moen. It seems like he’s making a stand here, too. :) Read more.
A couple of days ago John told me about a dream he had, and it seemed pretty clear to me that it wasn’t just a dream. In his dream our little boys were playing in a huge room and above them was a large door (in the ceiling?) with demons swarming around it. The demons were harassing the boys as they played. John wanted to protect them and stop the attacks, so he lifted up his hands, praying, and stood beneath where the demons were, drawing their attention to him. As he did this, the pressure got more and more intense, pressing back onto his hands, but the demons slowly began to retreat. Every time the pressure got really bad, he stepped away, and every time he stepped away, the demons gained back some ground. Then, when he stepped back under the swarm, with raised hands praying, they retreated again and the pressure from their attacks was not as great. Eventually I and my mom came to help him. (Note: John told me this dream a couple of days ago, and I’ve tried to write it as I remember it, but it may not be quite right. I’ll have to get him to read it.) That’s all he remembers, but it seemed pretty obvious to me that this is his life. Our family is being attacked (I don’t know if this is part of the medical issues the boys have had, or if it’s more that every time John starts trying to be consistent in his life that he gets sick or something throws him off). John, like Moses, raises his hands and prays (basically rekindles a consistent relationship with God), fighting back (being persistent in doing the things he needs to do), and the battle swings in his favor, the enemy retreats. But the pressure is still there. It doesn’t get easier right away because the enemy is furious, so the attacks in his life continue because now it’s focused on him and not on the children. But if he steps away, if he quits fighting and stops doing what he should because he’s tired, then the enemy regroups and starts attacking the children again. I think that the bit at the end is that it will take help to fight. Just like Moses’ arms were held up by Joshua and Aaron (not quite sure if those names are right), John needs help to hold his arms up until the battle is won.