-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)
There are going to be some bits in today’s reading that are going to be a little bit scary once we dig a little, fair warning. Potentially terrifying, if you hyperfocus on it (don’t). If you are an anxious type of person already, you may want to skip over today’s devotion and quickly skim over the Job portion of the reading without looking too closely, and I’m being completely serious. Nothing to see here folks, move along, move along…
Last chance. No? Ok, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Today we’re going to be talking about some disturbing stuff. If you are ever fortunate enough to look at a really, really old world map (mappae mundi, or “map of the world”, there are about 1100 surviving from the middle ages) that ancient mariners used, you’ll see a number of interesting illustrations and often a written note to warn the sailors along the lines of “Heere therre be Monsters“. Well, they be here too, let’s talk about it.
Firstly, are you aware that God sometimes tests and instructs us in our dreams? It’s true, it’s scripturally and experientially proven. If you want to do a deep dive on that subject, check out the devotion from 2/21/26 (my birthday!). Job 33:14-18 has one of the clearest explanations of that: “14Indeed God speaks once, Or twice, yet no one perceives it. 15In a dream, a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, While they slumber in their beds, 16Then He opens the ears of men, And seals in their discipline, 17That He may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep man from pride; 18He holds back his soul from the pit, And his life from passing over to death by a weapon.” (LSB). This tells us clearly that God (or, God’s agent/s) not only speaks to us in our dreams, but instructs us, for the purpose of correcting our conduct and keeping us safe and from dying. It also lets us know it’s often subtle, so subtle that we may not perceive it (unless we’re really paying attention).
In Job 4:12-19 (or -21 if you prefer the longer reading) we see a very disturbing thing. It appears that spiritual beings that are not of a benevolent disposition can also communicate in this same manner. “12“Now a word was brought to me stealthily, And my ear received a whisper of it. 13Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, 14Dread came upon me, and trembling, And made the multitude of my bones shake in dread. 15Then a spirit swept by my face; The hair of my flesh bristled up. 16It stood still, but I could not recognize its appearance; A form was before my eyes; There was silence, then I heard a voice: 17‘Can mankind be right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? 18He puts no trust even in His slaves; And against His angels He charges error. 19How much more those who dwell in houses of clay Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth!” (LSB). Is it just me, or does this diatribe seem like it’s coming from a disgruntled former employee? The scary thing to me is, this is clearly not a benevolent spirit. I’m not sure if it’s actually malevolent or not, but it’s certainly seditious. It reminds me of the character Wormtongue, in the Lord of the Rings books/movies; using clever words to plant seeds of death and decay.
I pointed this out a few months ago to a beloved friend of mine who attends a bible study with me, and the information genuinely disturbed her. The thing is, in our modern “scientific” world, we often disregard anything that we can’t explain away conveniently. Scriptures tell us, however, that the world around us is much, much bigger than we perceive with our limited senses. We know that there are spiritual beings, because scripture tells us there are. I’m not talking about ghosts and stuff like that, I’m talking about spiritual beings that are outside our immediate range of perception, other species that exist differently than we do. Do we understand it entirely? Probably not. Do we have evidence of it’s existence in scripture? Absolutely.
2 Kings 6:16-17 describes Elisha praying for his terrified servant to “open his eyes”, the servant can then see the myriad flaming chariots of God’s army surrounding them. In Daniel 10: 12-13 we see a messenger angel telling Daniel that he was delayed because “a prince of the kingdom of persia” resisted him (we assume this is a spiritual being). In Acts 12, we see Peter freed by an angel from a prison where he was soon to be executed. Paul warns us explicitly in Ephesians 6:12 that we don’t fight against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil, and John tells us in 1 John 4:1 that we must “test the spirits, to see whether they are from God.”. As human beings, our perceptions are limited, there are things unseen that we dwell within and among. It’s very scary, it’s hard to punch something in the face if you can’t see it, even harder if you can’t or won’t even acknowledge it’s existence. So, what are we to do?
Right now would be a very good point to ask you to take a peek at yesterday’s devotional about the “Courts of Heaven” if you haven’t already. In it there’s a very important understanding: every heavenly being and spiritual creature is under the authority of the Most High God. In Job 1, when Satan (literally, “The Adversary”) wanted to do Job harm, God’s express permission was required before it was allowed. EVERYTHING IN EXISTENCE IS UNDER GOD’S AUTHORITY. That’s not in and of itself a guarantee of your personal safety, but here are a couple practical steps that you can take to help you in the spiritual battle:
PRACTICAL SPIRITUAL SELF DEFENSE (AND OFFENSE)
- Be a child of God. Fathers protect their children, fiercely. God will tear apart anything that tries to harm His children. If the spirit of God is within you, lesser beings will flee.
- Pray, constantly and without ceasing. When you see a cute bear cub you’re unlikely to go try and pet it if Mama bear is staring at you, growling loudly, hackled up and drooling while baring her teeth. If you are talking to your Father, He is listening and watching closely and the spiritual enemies that seek to offer you harm will slip away and try to avoid notice.
- Put on the Armor of God. Read Eph 6:10-18, it’s no accident that this comes during the same talk about being in spiritual warfare Every defensive item listed is there to protect you. Examine and then put on every item discussed.
- Carry a Sword. In that little Armor of God section, there is only 1 offensive weapon that we have, and that is the word of God. It’s not a coincidence that as a response to every temptation that Jesus overcame, he responded with scripture. Carry your sword, the bible. I don’t mean just put a bible in the glove box, I mean read it, study it, memorize it, and apply it to your life. Don’t take lightly the fact that God gave His words, the same words that can birth galaxies and life, to you as a roadmap.
- Love God. Know in your heart that God is supreme. There is nothing greater than God. No force, no power, no being, nothing is more powerful than God. Lean into that, and cling to God. If God allows something, even if it may be painful momentarily, know and trust that it will be for your benefit in the long run because “God works all things together for the good of those who love Him”. (Rom 8:28)
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
- Have you thought about this much?
- Were the above steps helpful to you? What other ideas can help?
- Have you ever been under spiritual attack? Consider the instance(s) and the outcome(s), what could you have done better?
PRAYER
Father God, Creator and Ruler of all things, thank you for my life. Please guide me, teach me, help me to be a child who pleases, and keep me safe from those who wish to do me harm. Instruct me on the way that I should go, and grant me Your spirit. Thank you, in Jesus name, Amen.
Seek Grow Love 