To move forward in life, we must be willing to face our demons, those hidden places in our hearts that prevent us from moving forward. And most of the time, people are unwilling to face their own demon: the sins that so easily beset them, the failures of their past, and the hidden places in their own heart. True spirituality doesn’t ignore those demons. No, it confronts them, deals with them, and overcomes them by faith. Yes, we must confront our own demons, those besetting issues or we can never move forward into the life God has for us. As such, we must be willing to wrestle with our own demons. That’s what I’d like to talk about in this post.
The Apostle Paul, in writing to the Church in Ephesus, taught them to confront their demons. In fact, we quote this scripture so much, that we don’t even pay attention to what it really says, “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12 KJV. To prove what I’m saying in this post about facing our demons, I need go no further than the second word in this verse, wrestle. In the Greek, the word used by the Apostle Paul in this scripture is, pale. Pale literally means vibrate, wrestle, and throw down; it’s close quarters combat between two individuals, one on one, mano e mano.
The Apostle Paul was calling the Church in Ephesus to face their demons. Years later, Jesus would do the exact same thing, but in a different way. In Revelation 2:4, NLT, Jesus speaks to the church in Ephesus, saying, “I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!” Yes, Jesus did hold this against them. The word for against in the Greek is, kata. That means, to throw down. Or, when Jesus saw the believers in Ephesus, he saw what was really happening behind the scenes and wanted to sit them down and talk with them. But oftentimes, as we are, they were too busy doing things for God and not busy enough with spending time with God. Jesus wanted them to face their real issue — you’ve left Me behind in all that you’re doing for Me.
Doesn’t that describe the Church today. Often, we think the church in the greatest danger was the church in Laodicea. But, in reality, the church on the precipice of compromise was the church in Ephesus. Why do I say that? Because Jesus was ready to spew Laodicea out of His mouth, He was sickened by them. But the church in Ephesus, He was quite literally against them; they had left Him behind for other things. In other words, Christ was opposing the church in Ephesus. We don’t want that, do we? No, we don’t want Jesus to anything against us. That means, we must face our demons.
It’s not usually the great issues of life that hinder us from becoming who we were meant to be. No, it’s those little things we fail to do, daily. It’s the glaring look, the angry scowl, the mean word, the subtle lie, a hardened heart, the absent gaze, the hidden disobedience to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Those are the things that hinder us from becoming who God has called us to be. Oftentimes, people with disobedient and unrepentant hearts try to replace their disobedience with prayer. Please understand: prayer can never replace obedience. Before God calls us to prayer, He calls us to obedience.
Obedience is the key word in the Bible. The cause of mankind’s pain, suffering, and death is disobedience. That one word governs so much of what we do. And we don’t even know it. Nor do we pay attention to it. Instead, we exclaim, “I’m doing my best!” Then, we will in exasperation cry out, “What do you expect from me, God?!” The unwavering answer of God is always the same thing — obedience. As the prophet Samuel said to King Saul, “Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22, NLT. And that truth hasn’t changed in the 3000 year passage of time. Obedience is required.
“Obedience is the key word in the Bible.”—Scott Wallis
The spirit working in this world against God’s plans for our lives is aptly called, the spirit of disobedience. That spirit promotes disobedience among people to God’s call. In Ephesians 2:2, Amplified Bible, we see that “spirit who is now at work in the disobedient [the unbelieving, who fight against the purposes of God].” Notice, the disobedient don’t stop at their own disobedience; rather, they fight against God’s purposes in the earth. Quite literally, they can’t help themselves; they must do those things, their calling is to disobedience.
Thankfully, in Christ, we have a different choice we can make. But that requires us to face our demons, confront our issues, overcome our disobedience. That’s where the real battle lay. And yes, it’s a very real battle that we must face…daily. As Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.” Matthew 16:24, NLT. Why is that? “[Y]our ways are not My ways.” Isaiah 55:8, HCSB. Please understand this truth: In God’s kingdom, you don’t, won’t, and can’t have it your way. No! The path of your way, the path of disobedience is the way to hell. Proverbs 7:27,KJV. As Jesus said, “The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.” Matthew 7:13, NLT.
Or, few are willing to face their own demons.
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