The enemy of our soul is alive and well, regardless of our belief or lack of belief in him. The devil and his minions move about looking to hurt, kill and destroy. I bring this up because lately I have noticed a number of folks who were struck down by a virus or disease that in many cases had slipped by undiagnosed. Ultimately each received the diagnosis by the most recent team of doctors. But in a few cases, some required 2, 3, even 4th or 5th doctors and teams. It would be one thing if the “disease” just noodled along, but in the most recent cases I had been involved in, the illness came in like gangbusters.

Now, I want to say I believe God is not the author of disease or sickness (On any level.)so, sickness is one of those things perpetrated by the devil, the fall of man and believers who have not recognized or fully exercised their authority. I also do not believe receiving a “diagnosis” is where we ought to stop. (Great. Now we have a label…We can breath…I think not.) Anything less than full or complete healing is not the answer of heaven. A diagnosis may be the “text or and email” but I am contending for the full visitation of God through His people in the earth and in those who have been sickened. (Anyone who knows me, knows I lay hands, pray and ask questions later in most cases. I can not stand sickness and it makes me angry. Yesterday a dear friend of mine called. He was crying. His child was very sick. I interrupted to pray.  I prayed at the beginning of our call, lest I forget. We talked and agreed to connect later.)

I was tired. The previous night I was with another couple of sick people and I told my wife I was going to take a nap. Before I fell asleep I reached out to God. I was looking for an answer. I fell asleep. During that 5-10 minutes of napping I had a visit. Here is what I saw.

I saw an enemy lurking around the neighborhood where I was. He was just walking around but every now and then he would see a door open and enter. Bad things would happen. He would leave. People became used to his visits to the neighborhood. Many would look out the window and say things like “it’s just him” and go back to washing their dishes or whatever they were doing. Finally, a group of vigilantes who wanted him gone began to seek him out to remove him. He became more hidden but he still moved about the neighborhood. More and more people became used to him. Others would raise up the alarm and still others would leave food at their door so he would not bother. Some would move. Others just established fences and refused to not allow him in. But over the years people became used to him, made the sacrifices of food and stopped really thinking of him. Over time children would disappear and people would go away. He never really left but people had become so used to him that they never really noticed. The city changed…

This morning when I came downstairs, I heard a noise. I thought to myself that sounds like a person. I came down and checked everywhere. Nothing. In that moment I felt a chill fill the room. I spoke the words of life and light. It left.

I was a little fearful when I came down the stairs. But I reminded myself of my authority in the earth. So, the sleepiness was replaced by a “here we go” and the words of who I am. After I got my coffee, I thought about all of this. The noise, the sickness, the visit.

We have an enemy. We can choose to ignore it or we can do what it takes to remove it. If it is sickness. End it. If it is death. End it. If it is attack. End it. Stop it dead in its tracks and say “enough is enough”. The following are observations and thoughts.

I was somewhere the other day and as I watched the people I saw the look of despair and emptiness. I also noticed that both the children and the adults had begun to look like “something”. Not something good, but something dark. They had allowed the enemy to be in their midst and it appeared to physically change their looks. I noticed 20-30 people who were “walking” the same way. I kept doing a reality check with myself. Was this really an truth I was seeing? I closed my eyes and reopened them numerous times. New people came and the answer was the same. Occasionally I would see a person or a child who stood out. (In retrospect, I think they had been touched by God.)

I struggled through the last week with so many children being sick. I came to the conclusion that many in the faith have stopped reaching out for change. To heal, to declare health.

I saw many people “going after” the enemy and finding themselves on the short end of the stick. It was not because of God, their lack of faith, sin or anything like that. The constant chase after darkness, has caused casualties, because some of have given up around the, others have left and not all battles were yours to begin with. At some point the door was left open to the “house” and because of tiredness, discouragement or “hey I just forgot” the enemy walked in. (I want to be clear-there is no blame attached to this or anything else I am saying. Sometimes it is not about what we are against but the announcement of what we are for.)

Others receive a diagnosis and take a deep breath. “At least I know the enemy.” When I came downstairs to the noise, I knew I was dealing regardless of what it was. Had it been even a “mouse” it was going. The diagnosis is not the resting place. (It reminds me of closing the door and putting food on the steps.)

The body of Christ in so many instances is not “at rest”. Whether it is the news, circumstances or situations, anxiety that creeps in lowers your defenses. You do not have to be “always on” but instead ought to be “always in the rest”. Anxiety is an door opener. It circles around lack of trust. The knowledge it is “in the neighborhood” is not enough. Negativity and the “what will be will be” is not in keeping with the kingdom and God’s desire towards you.

Where you live may be more important than you think.

Giving up is not an answer.

I wish I could tie it all up pretty and give you a nice neat three point answer. I can’t. I have been around the church long enough to see the ebbs and flows of revelation and realities. I am pretty sure we are on the crest of a knowledge of God that will be applied to the earth and change a lot of things. The “we got it” crowd is being partied up with the “we are getting it” crowd and the earth is shaking. They are seeing the flaws in their application and the different streams of God are merging. Life is changing rapidly.

In all of it we have authority. If you walk away with nothing else be reminded of this “God is good and the devil is not”. Being sick is not only not fun but not His goodness towards you. His desire for you is health and wholeness. Embrace it.

You may see yourself in the words above. You may want to be angry or discouraged. Today is a new day. Begin here. Redeem the time. Forget what was and engage what is. Darkness is real but light is real too and is so much the greater. Do not engage the enemy’s line of thinking and allow discouragement or despair to over take you.  Do not let the weapons of separation and isolation win against you. Today is your day!