Snakes Without Faces

I’ve had a misunderstanding of what spiritual warfare looks like. I had this visual that true, unshakable faith looked like meditating; sitting quietly, legs crossed, hands in lap, and soft smiles on lips while the war raged around me. But you know, I have found that I can’t seem to just tell myself to stay calm when it feels like my world is falling apart. And when I can’t stay calm, I start dumping shame on top of my anxiety because a good, faithful Christian should  simply says “I trust God” and that’d be the end of it. If you have ever experienced this, that is known as the shame cycle, because more shame, just begets more anxiety and so on.

The past month seemed to be slammed with insecurities, rejection, and fear. I even had this dream where one of my ministry heroes attempted to comfort me by telling me that he had figured out my problem. He took me by the shoulders, looked me in the eye, smiling, and said “You just want attention.” I burst into tears and told him that he was right. Then I start down this road lined with snakes. I was looking out for their mouths but I couldn’t find it because the snakes had no faces. One even raises up and starts coming towards me. Even without a mouth I ran away terrified. 

One morning I found my mind starting up the “good christian” shame cycle. So as I sat down to do my bible study, I prayed this prayer:

"God, my Father, blessing and honor and glory and reverence and praise be given to You. I command my soul to bless You. I command my soul to thank you. God, You are so good. You are in control. I trust You, for Your Word says you work all things for the good of those who love you. I glorify You as Creator, I glorify you as Almighty! You are compassionate, You are the God who sees me. You are The Good Shepherd, You are a Good Father. Bless Yahweh."

After prayer I began my bible study in 2 Corinthians 6, and I want to share with you verses 4-7:

“4) But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, 5) in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; 6) by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by Holy Spirit, by sincere love, 7) by word of truth, by power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left.”

I was reading a commentary on this passage, and the Greek word that was used for patience in verse 4 is hupomne. This particular word presents the idea of endurance rather than simply "waiting". Now look at this quote from the commentary, "We often think of patience as a passive thing - the ability to sit around and wait for something to happen. That is not the idea of the word Paul used here. It is an active endurance instead of a passive waiting. The Ancient Greek word hupomone does not describe the frame of mind which can sit down with folded hands, a bowed head and let a torrent of troubles sweep over it in passive resignation. It describes the ability to bear things in such a triumphant way that it transfigures them."

The Christian shame cycle was called out and broken. Faith is not expected to look like meditation, because it looks like swinging a sword and bringing up a shield. Ephesians 6:17 tells us that the sword is the Word of God. When the enemy uses lies to wage war on our mind, and we can only actively battle every lie with The Truth. That morning I realized that the enemy had been baiting me with the same old tired lies to trap me in fear over and over again.

Thinking back to my dream, it was a perfect illustration of what the enemy does. He uses snakes with no faces, taunting us with something that looks scary but has no real bite. The same lies always come out of the woods to daunt our journey. Is there a snake you recognize? An unhealthy thought pattern, a lie you keep believing about yourself or a situation you keep falling into? The enemy knows what has worked before, and he will keep using it. Try to recognize it so you can start to do battle with it.

So, what does it look like to realistically do battle?

1. Lifting the shield: Turn on worship music, and praise the Lord out loud in prayer despite your circumstances (Psalm 34, 42:11, 146). Worship shifts our perspective. It reminds us who our Father is, how much He loves us, and how unstoppable He is. Tell yourself and your problems who is on the throne. Declaring the goodness of God builds faith in you and casts down the lies that try to claim authority in your life. 

2. Swing the sword: Test your thoughts by holding them next to the truth of God’s Word (2 Corinthians 10:5). If your thoughts are flowing from and sustaining a spirit of fear, it is not from God (2 Timothy 1:7). For example, I would get anxiety when I would walk into the youth group I volunteered with. I felt alone and unessential, like it didn’t matter if I was there or not. Now I realize the enemy didn’t want me there so he was throwing out a snake to scare me off. Even the dream, I wondered if it was from God telling me not to trust the ministry people who were in it. But by testing, I know that God does not instill fear, or speak to me in such an unloving way. John 10:1-16 says that we are sheep and He is the good shepherd, and we are able to discern between His loving voice and the voice of the one who wishes to steal us away. The only way you will know His voice is by familiarizing yourself with His word.

There is a peace and joy that comes from remembering that our God is almighty and sovereign. The enemy will try to use situations that cause fear, worry and anxiety to try to distract you and distort your view of God. But the bible says “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you” Isaiah 26:3. Do not look to the right or to the left of you path, spotted with snakes. Do not let their rearing back send you running. Fix your eyes on God. The fight with the deceiver and with his lies begins and ends by holding the truth of God’s word above anything that can be thrown at us.