Attacks of the Devil

I sometimes struggle with temptations in my dreams.  I have felt shame from the desires that are presented in my dreams though I have escaped the life they represent.  I thought it was an interesting point today when the speaker, during chapel at my job, talked about going to sleep and waking up being your most vulnerable time for attacks from the devil.  They went on to explain that this was so because it is the time that your mind is most passive.

First off, I have to say that I was comforted to know that I am not the only one who struggles with temptations within my dreams.  Second, I realized how much shame I would feel from these dreams though I do not many times have the control over my thought life during my dreams that I have when I am awake.  I realized today that temptation dreams have been used by the devil to raise my vulnerability to sin while I'm awake due to the shame and regret I feel from them.

The speaker went on to explain that the temptation dreams you experience when you fall asleep of are just waking up are not a sign of your underlying sinful heart but the vulnerability of your soul to attack at those times.  I have a choice to wake up and believe that I am the person I perceive myself to be in those dreams or I can choose to acknowledge that those dreams are attacks from the devil to try and weaken my daily walk in Christ.  During these moments, the devil is striking at a question many of us struggle with daily.  Am I good enough to have Jesus in me?  The answer is, no, but the beauty of this is that Jesus' purity washes over our sin for us.

When you are a follower of Jesus, it is important that you sift out the attacks of the devil on your heart and the truth of the Holy Spirit within you.  The devil wants you to believe that you have not changed through belief of Jesus Christ.  He wants to convince you that you will always succumb to temptations and that sinful thoughts you had before will always enslave you the rest of your life.  HE wants you to believe that the grace of Jesus is not enough to allow you to stand in heaven with Jesus.  These are lies!

Here are some truths from the Bible to help you be able to identify attacks from the devil and the works of the Holy Spirit in your life.  In the Galatians 5:22 and 23, it says, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." Ephesians 6, which speaks about the armor of Christ speaks about the devils arrows in verse 6.  It tells about the importance of the shield of faith to protect you from these arrows.  Ephesians 1:13-14 says, " In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory."  The final piece of evidence that clenches the rest is also found in Ephesians 2:8-9 saying, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast."


So through these scriptures we can see that there will be attacks from the devil.  That our faith in the the Trinity will help shield us from those attacks.  That we have the Holy Spirit, who guarantees our inheritance, in us if we hear the gospel and believe in Jesus.  That we know that the works of the Holy Spirit are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.  And finally, we see that we are not good enough but Jesus is and that our faith in Jesus truly is enough to receive all the rest.  So this helps us to know that anything that does not help us produce and develop the fruits of the Spirit in our lives is not the Holy Spirit but in fact an attack from the devil on our hearts.  


So next time you feel tempted, whether awake or in your dreams, use these truths to help focus you back on the Holy Spirit in your heart.  Also use these truth to renounce the attacks upon your soul and claim the strength of the spirit within you to protect you through your faith.  Jesus has already won against the devil so do not allow the devil to take any more victories from you but rather allow the Holy Spirit continue to help reign victorious through you.


Blessings,


Greg