“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”  (2 Timothy 1:7).

Some days I spend way too much time on social media – I need to do something about that!  However, spending a little time scrolling through the various posts has proved to be quite informative!

By far, the most intense post-election emotion that I’ve been reading about is fear; and that fear has been a springboard for anger, hatred, rebellion, and violence.  For Christians, it is essential to recognize the spiritual component behind fear (“spirit of fear”) and respond as warriors equipped for battle:

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” [That’s us! We are his brethren, and we have a responsibility to “be strong in the Lord!”]  “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:10-12)

It has been easy to blame individuals and the media for misinformation, bias, and misrepresentations—and for igniting tremendous fear and violent responses—without acknowledging the spiritual forces motivating the divisions and hatred.  Scripture lays out for us many characteristics of demonic activity:

Deceit, Fraud, Enemy of all Righteousness, Perverting the straight ways of the Lord: “Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, ‘O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?’” (Acts 13:9-10).

Unrighteousness, Hatred, Jealousy: “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.  For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother.  And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.” (1 John 3:10-12)

Murder, Absence of Truth, Telling Lies: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” (John 8:44)

We, as Christians, need to suit up for battle and take our fight to where the war is being waged—in the unseen, the “heavenly” realms.  We can start by taking control of our own thoughts: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

Arguing with people is fruitless (as many have discovered by now), particularly with those who refuse to accept the lordship of Jesus Christ.  The apostle Paul wrote this to Timothy, “If anyone…does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.  From such withdraw yourself.”  (1 Timothy 6:3-5)

And: “But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.  And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:23-26)

Wow!  Think about this—those who lie, who oppose the truth are captives of the enemy and are commissioned by him to do his will; they are his spokesmen, his press secretaries, if you will.

And when we give place to the demons of fear, anger, or rage, we become their slaves— “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey…?” (Romans 6:16)

As Christians, we must confront the enemy where he is, with the armor given us for warfare: “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:13-18)

Paul also counseled Timothy, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

Talking about problems and complaining are so much easier to do that praying—but God calls us to pray, to “fear not”, and to trust Him.  Let us raise a banner to God in the midst of the battle!  Let cry out to Him in faith—let us worship Him who is the author and finisher of our faith!  And let us pray for His kingdom to come, and for His will to be done on earth!