When I was little my parents would tuck me in, shut off the lights and leave the room. Then the darkness would start to move. The boogieman hid under my bed sometimes. I would rather it would have stayed under there. Instead, it would pop its head out and speak. Sometimes it would say my name, other times it would just laugh at me. I would cry until my parents came to save me. But instead of telling me it’s just my imagination, my dad would understand and pray for it to leave.
Somehow his prayers scared the boogieman away. But what is even more amazing is the fact that my dad never negated the fact that I was seeing something scary in my bedroom. As I got older I came to understand that he saw them too when he was a kid. He explained that I was seeing in the spirit realm. He said most children started out being able to see in the spirit, some never stop.
I now know the things I called the boogieman were actually demons. I didn’t understand why I was seeing them. I felt like a freekazoid because my siblings were quietly nestled in their beds floating through dreamland while I was wide awake jolted with adrenalin because there was a hole forming in the wall where angry faces would appear, staring at me. It’s pretty difficult to fall asleep with adrenalin in your veins.
But after I got over the fact that I could see demons and angels anywhere and everywhere, I realized it wasn’t a curse, it is a gift. But like all gifts, I had to grow and learn how to use it.
My first lesson came with one simple word: Discernment.
How do you know the difference between the good, the bad and the just plain ugly in the spirit realm? The answer is quite simple. Know your enemy, know your teammates.
Here is a brief list of things I learned about the enemy:
- They don’t want you to worship God.
- They want you to worship them. (Worship = consumed with who someone is.)
- They counterfeit the things of God. (Prophecy vs. psychic. That is just one example, there are more.)
- They invade the dark places in your heart and make it worse. (Whether you’re a Christian or not: Demonization.)
Here is a brief list of things I understand about my Teammates:
- God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)
- Angels do not directly interfere with our lives. (If our focus is on angels, it pulls our attention from God Himself.)
- God has given us free will and will never break it.
- He STILL does amazing signs and wonders: healings, raising people from dead, & more.
- He gives inconceivable gifts: Prophecy, Spiritual Sight, Visions, Dreams, & more.
I like my team!
Discernment is having the sensitivity to know between God’s spirit and the demonic. The bible is our secret code (okay, not so secret) to knowing what God is like. If it contradicts the Bible, then umm, it’s probably not God.
I spent years being afraid of the dark and afraid of the demons whispering in the dark. The name of Jesus made them hit the road, but I also realized that another "monster" that continuously stood at the end of my bed facing away from me was not a demon at all. It was my guardian angel (Teammate!).
The Spirit of Fear convinced me to fear anything supernatural. I kept trying to kick the angel out of my room, but it was there under orders from the Big Guy to protect me.
The Spirit of Fear convinced me to fear anything supernatural. I kept trying to kick the angel out of my room, but it was there under orders from the Big Guy to protect me.
Sweet!
Read more SECRETS OF THE SUPERNATURAL posts.