Spiritual Attacks and Facebook

I recently checked my Facebook account to see what was going on in the lives of my friends. There was the usual song lyric post, quote from a thoughtful person, Farmville update, Olympic update and what book a person is currently reading, and then there was something new. A friend was updating me on the newest diet fad that actually worked. It had to do with the Acai berry and it looked like my friend was legitimately telling me about it. I have to admit I was wondering if my few “winter pounds” were really starting to show or why else would I have received that message. Then moments later came the post of, “Please ignore my previous post about dieting or eating berries or whatever, I was hacked.” What has the world come to when even your Facebook account can be hacked?

Computer hacking and identity theft are too common these days. It honestly seems more like a matter of “when” not “if” it’ll happen to you. These type of attacks aren’t the only ones we face though. In our comfortable lives here, it can be very easy to miss the attacks we face spiritually everyday. Some can be subtle attempts to move us from where God wants us, or attempts to get us to walk away from Him completely. We begin to doubt things we’ve believed forever, or act in ways we know we shouldn’t. We have thoughts that we would normally easily dismiss that continue to haunt us. This week’s lesson is definitely hitting home for me as I was reminded to stay prepared for the coming attacks.

Last week I mentioned my wife going back to school to become a teacher. Well, we learned a few more pieces of the puzzle have come together and she’ll likely be starting this summer. On the heels of finding out she got accepted and when she’ll start, many thoughts began to surface. How are we going to pay for this? What if I can’t handle working and studying? Maybe I should just stay where I am? What if I don’t like the kids I’ll be teaching? What if I have class on the day my daughter has her dance recital? These were literally thoughts we discussed in the past two days. I just couldn’t understand why she was having all these doubts, and then the light bulb went off. She weren’t going crazy, she were under attack. We knew what God wanted us to be doing, but satan was getting us to doubt all of it. That’s the way he works and we need to be ready and alert when attacks come. Ephesians 6 was a great reminder and strength this week as we processed what the next 2 years or so will look like as we balance life, work and school.

Do you recognize the attacks going on around you? I don’t know what yours may look like, but I do know they’re aimed at disrupting your relationship with Christ and His plans for your life. It’s been said before, but it takes daily preparation and growth in God’s Word. What are you doing right now to be ready for the next attack? How are you preparing and strengthening yourself?