We Are All Human After All

I like the rain. It's nature's filter. It's especially exciting when there is a storm raging directly overhead. High winds, water bucketing out of the sky and flashes of lightning followed by tremendous peals of thunder. No wonder the Norse attributed energy storms to the supernatural. If there was a supernatural storm, however, I think we'd like to know about it.

But who really knows what's going on in the spiritual realm? Frank Peretti paints a good picture in his books Piercing the Darkness and This Present Darkness. Angels are portrayed as warriors of light, able to interact freely with humans and strengthened by the prayers of the saints; demonic forces are not wusses but in the end are overcome by the strategies of the angelic host - the more prayer cover, the stronger heaven's armies are against the forces of darkness.

The devil is real. He wants to sow discord all over the place. Everything Satan does is counterfeit and full of deception and lies; keeping up a strong spiritual shield by prayer, meditation, speaking in tongues and reading the Word, and not doing stupid things like gossipping, holding onto unforgiveness or judging people, is a good start to seeing through the enemy's deceit and avoiding falling into snares.

It can be subtle. In fact, often it starts with a small compromise as the minions of hell slowly find gaps in your defences; wedging a dagger in here, sinking a barb in there. The devil has been around for a long time and he has patience in breaking down the spirits of God's most wonderful creation: people. That is why spiritual growth is absolutely necessary and allowing the Holy Spirit to fill the gaps that do crop up is imperative. The flesh is never strong enough to withstand spiritual attack on its own.

Knowing the Word is important in being able to counter attacks that come your way. It's like FFVII's counter materia. The more you use it, the more AP you get. As it levels with enough AP, automatic countering is more frequent. At MASTER level, you counter every physical offensive. When you allow God's Word to speak to your spirit you are preparing yourself to be blessed, to be edified, to believe, to accept the truth, and to surround yourself with necessary protection.

Pray, speak in tongues and honour God with your thoughts and actions. We may only be human, but if we weren't weak in every way what use would God have for us? Not everything goes according to plan - in fact, often we don't understand why we fail, why some people have greater outward blessings than us or why certain other things in life seem to hold us back. Remember, in His mercy He forgives; in His grace He blesses.

Il dio è sempre fedele - God is always faithful. And so is His son, Jesus Christ our redeemer.

-Timotheos