Who Am I? Part 2

Who Am I? Part 2
Friday, October 18, 2024 by Dr. James W. Walraven

Categories: Contemporary issues / Scripture discussion / Spiritual deception / Spiritual warfare / Thought for Today

Who am I? In the previous post we looked at the question of who influences us, both humanly and spiritually. Who and/or what do we listen to? Those voices are not necessarily strictly human.

Our church has been doing an ongoing study on the Neil Anderson series, “Victory Over the Darkness,” and we’ve recently started “The Bondage Breaker.” This series is rooted in those books.

It is rare that we talk about what may or may not be going on in our minds. We live in a humanistic, naturalistic culture that often tends to deny any sort of “spiritual” reality, despite all the evidence to the contrary. To dare admit to hearing voices equates to some form of mental problem, chemical imbalance, or other physical or psychological problem. Spiritual possibilities are simply ignored. Under those circumstances, better to suffer silently.

In contrast, for those who do acknowledge the spiritual world, many claim to see spirit-beings as helpful “guides” even if some of those beings are not quite so benevolent. One writer described it many years ago as “the beautiful side of evil.” Satan does appear as an angel of light, and aren’t “angels of light” supposed to be beneficial?

The reality is rather different. While Christians cannot be demonically possessed—the Holy Spirit resides inside us—we can still be influenced, as we saw happen to Peter, as mentioned in the previous post. One of the biggest potential issue is: How often do we mistake a demonic thought for our own? Most likely that thought will appear as, “I’m stupid,” “I’m worthless,” etc. They occur in first-person singular, masquerading as our own thoughts, even though in reality, they are not.

Sometimes thoughts may be accusatory, but we at least recognize those as not being our own. Typically, they take the form of: “You’re _____” (the blank is filled in with something suitably negative). Nevertheless, if systematically bombarded with them, we may still come to believe them.

While Scripture tells us that there is no sin except what is common to all humans, each one of us had different upbringings, different circumstances, some arguably far more challenging than others. We all have tender, sensitive, vulnerable spots. Satan knows very well what buttons to push to get us to react. Particularly if we grew up with, or have subsequently experienced, some form of verbal, emotional, or physical abuse, or been abandoned, or possibly orphaned due to death—a young child only knows they have been left alone—it potentially becomes all-the-more difficult. Thoughts along the lines of: “I must be worthless, and therefore deserve ____” (whatever the horrific thing is). The resulting internal negativity can be overwhelming, paralyzing, or worse.

Then, on top of that, there is society’s negativity, and their near total rejection if you don’t conform to their demands and mores. One must actively support their agendas, or else…

That makes for an impossible situation, doesn’t it? Surrounded by external negativity, and bombarded with internal negativity, what hope is there? Why not just give up and surrender?

There is good news…

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