Many conditions of our humanity are cloaked behind spiritual attack.
Much anger, fear, sorrow, especially as we try and ‘think’ our way through complex problems... problems that are all too often unfixable.
I’m learning in this area, but am counselled by the words of Oswald Chambers:
“In intellectual matters you can think things out, but in spiritual matters you will think yourself into cotton wool.”
In other words, the more you try and think yourself out of a spiritual dilemma, the more intertwined you become in the dilemma.
You know you’re under spiritual attack when you try three or six or nine things and nothing makes any difference, which leaves you frustrated and panicked and even more bereft of precious inner resource.
If we aren’t careful, we’ll become spiritually imperiled, which is a crisis of faith, be it temporary for an hour or day or two, or something worse.
These are things to consider when in the grips of turmoil:
1. Pray. Yes, that’s right, to sit there, to close your eyes, to look to the heavens, to seek help, to wait patiently... is good... prayer, in a word.
2. Take a step back, smile, or even laugh if you can—it might take a few moments. No matter how bad things seem, retreat far enough to regain perspective
3. When in a funk, do less, think less, try less. The funk is an indication of imbalance. Balances are never restored by doing, thinking, or trying more
4. Keep your mind open to the fact that there is an enemy, without being consumed by paranoia for that fact. There are invisible powers, but we subvert them simply in doing what’s right—even if that means sitting there in shaking sobs to pay homage to sorrow instead of bowing to the temptation of fury that only hurts others or yourself
5. What gets us into a pickle is also the key to getting us out. If too much rumination got us into the mess, true mindfulness will always help—mindfulness being the focus of the mind on one therapeutic (“feels good”) thing at a time
6. Give way to the feelings of grief you’re hiding from. Spiritual attack hides itself very well in denial. But there is peace in the facing, and though it may seem to hurt at the time, what you enter when you enter your pain is something that’s sacrosanct, precious, alluring
7. Connecting with loved ones or with a key passion is one way to augment mindfulness
8. Insight will help to arrest the slide. Spiritual attack is always an attack on insight, and insight is the capacity to see truth. We think that seeing truth is easy. It’s not. Sometimes it’s just impossible to see, hence the lack or void of insight
9. Get held. That’s right, sometimes we just need to go to someone we trust and be held, whether that’s a physical or merely spiritual reality is up to you and the person holding you
10. Let me finish by another quote from Chambers: “Simplicity is the secret of seeing things clearly.” The simpler you can make things, the simpler you can accept life as it is, the better.
Again and again in this life, we’re brought back to the classical idea to keep it simple. Much is achieved when things are seen as they are, for what they are, especially when that leads to reflection, gratitude, and peace.
Photo by Melina Kiefer on Unsplash
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