Are you under attack but don't know it? Should you always remain alert? Find out what can happen if you're not.
The other day I was walking through the metro station in urban Madrid when I saw a young girl -- millennial most likely --- with a hoodie and a bold message written on the front.
In capital letters, the statement said ‘MY GENERATION WILL SAVE THE PLANET’. I was taken aback for a moment as I was listening to worship music of how Jesus brings us salvation at that very moment. The irony of how well the subject blended together was almost laughable. Then again, with the Holy Spirit, those kinds of ‘coincidences’ no longer surprise you but speak to you.
Her hoodie had some other small lettering underneath encouraging people to recycle and turn green for the sake of our planet.
Our generation is called to bring salvation to this world through Jesus.
But I’m not here to talk about recycling. What happened in that moment was, the Spirit within me instantly whispered in my ear with this assurance: yes your generation will save the planet, through the witnessing and testimony of Jesus Christ to the world. And it'll happen more than ever before at a supernatural power and speed. Our generation is chosen and I believe the Lord has begun working on a long-standing purpose which He has chosen us for and is fulfilling in our time.
Hebrews 12:12-13 says “So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.”
This passage shows us not only that we do inevitably grow tired as humans, but it then encourages us on what to do next.
I’ve recently returned to Madrid after three months in the UK and I was on fire. Let’s just say that the church I was going to the Lord used massively so that I may return full of fire. And I did. The first few days of my return were spectacular and I felt invincible to say the least: I felt ready to move mountains and had the faith to make fire fall from the sky if the Lord so wished it!
However, these past few weeks, things have gone south. First I felt really tired. Constantly. Couldn’t even finish my morning classes without lying down for at least a 15 minute power nap. I would sleep 9 hours and still feel exhausted the next day. It was only in worship that I finally got some strength back.
Tiredness can be a mighty weapon of the enemy.
Then, I started to feel overwhelmed by all that I needed to do. I felt like there was so much, I didn’t know where to begin. Then the next day, I felt full of doubt: all my dreams for the future, the promises the Lord gave me, His calling suddenly seemed ‘too good to be true’ and I felt like the last person for the job. All of this happened in the space of a few days. Each day tougher and tougher, more and more things piling on. I kept praying for the strength to go on, the faith to believe, the hope to keep trying— because at one point I literally felt like giving up. I thought, 'ah, this is too much work!' Then, last night, I got a different sense of tiredness: I felt like I just wanted to get away. Immediately, I was there looking up flights to go to Mallorca, to get as far from my every day routine.
As I began to pray that night that the Lord help me find a flight, the Spirit made me stop for a second and think. What was I doing? I had just landed in Spain no more than 3 weeks prior and I was already moaning that I wanted to get away? This didn’t sit right.
It’s very easy for a distraction or an act of misalignment to disguise itself as desire.
Through my conversation with the Lord, the Spirit finally opened my eyes and I saw how each one of those days had been attacks. The enemy tried everything: from laziness to fear, to worry, to the overwhelmed. And seeing as nothing worked, he even had the guts to tempt me with the beach, just to ensure that I leave this place, that I run like a coward and hide: all right in the middle of harvest and revival. The enemy knows how much God wants me in Madrid and whilst the Lord has plans to use me, the enemy tries to lure me away.
The same will happen to you. We are all made for the kingdom and the minute we offer our hearts and lives to God, we are deemed chosen, called, righteous: all according to the power of Christ in us. And if there’s anything the devil works to taint, it’s righteousness.
And remember, our generation is called to bring salvation to this world through Jesus. But you cannot help another fight their battle, you cannot truly pray and encourage them, not if you do not first gain your own victories. You need to become strong in your salvation, then trust that what the Spirit has taught you He will help you share onto others.
I encourage you today to take a deeper look at your priorities and desires. Where do they come from? What exactly are they achieving, and are they aligned with God’s plan for you? It’s very easy for a distraction or an act of misalignment to disguise itself as desire. Just as it was for me: I always loved the beach and I’d pack up and go any time I got the opportunity, but in this moment, it would not be a promise fulfilled, but a derail from the purpose God has for me.
It may seem like a few small decisions but just one can cause you to lose out on an irreplaceable anointing or blessing.
You can ask God today to reveal to you if there is anything that you are in or about to enter that is not aligned with God’s divine purpose for your life. Trust me, they may seem like a few small decisions but just one of them can cause you to lose out on an irreplaceable anointing or blessing. So let's 'take a new grip with our tired hands' and 'strengthen our weak knees'.
Start picking up the word of God again, holding onto it tightly. Receive the power of the Holy Spirit with the intention of staying on the path that He has planned for you. Stay and keep walking and receive the strength to keep going despite distraction and the lies of the enemy.
Let's 'take a new grip with our tired hands' and 'strengthen our weak knees'!
And remember, being attacked— through distractions or otherwise— is part of being a child of God. It is a joy, as Paul put it. For it refines and grows our perseverance. Don’t be afraid of attacks for Jesus is with you and that means inevitable victory.
Being attacked also doesn’t only happen when you are high in the spirit. It happens always. The only difference is that when you’re in the spirit, you’re aware of it, and you have more weapons to defend yourself. So don’t listen to the devil who says that if you get more from God you run more risk; when actually the truth is that if you get more from God, you get more victories.