Corona Devo 2089

There's something (spiritually) fishy going on here.

I've been thinking that for weeks. Has it been a month? I know it's been more than twenty-one days.

I believe this can happen (be experienced) both ways: positively and negatively, but have you ever had the feeling (sense) that something is not quite right? Maybe we can't put our finger on it, but sometimes we can.

We can sense/feel, or we just know that something is fishy. That something is off, and that something is not quite right.

To coin a term: spiritual battles.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  ~Ephesians 6:12

I've been waging a war at work. My whole job is about communication. Phone, and a lot of email. I send emails, and I also receive email updates/questions/leads/and (hopefully) sales. But not this week. And not in the last few weeks. It's like there's been a virtual muzzle on my incoming emails, or a rope holding and binding them all back.

Even people that I am in regular professional communication with, aren't in communication with me lately. It's been oddly silent for weeks. At first, I wondered, then I was frustrated. Then I repented (did I do something wrong?). And then, I saw with my spiritual eyes that this silence had nothing to do with me. It was spiritual.

I told my husband that. I told my kids that. And this morning, through the Bible, God told me that.

There are battles being waged that we have no idea about. It doesn't mean they are not occurring.

~~~

Daniel Chapter 10 explains a spiritual battle that was being waged in Daniel's life. An angel (or other Heavenly being) had wanted to visit Daniel, but for twenty-one days he was prevented because the "prince of the Persian kingdom" resisted him.  

I don't know who this "prince" (of Persia) was, but I do want to note that on multiple occasions, Jesus referred to satan as the "prince of this world", and the Bible states that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12).

• Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.  ~John 12:31  

• I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me...  ~John 14:30

I can't explain what happened in Daniel's life during a vision that he experienced, but I feel that his vision probably parallels things that we (too) have faced (knowingly or unknowingly).

A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. (11) He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.  

(12) Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. (13) But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. (14) Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”  ~Daniel 10:8-14

There are battles being waged that we have no idea about, and that we cannot explain. It doesn't mean they are not occurring.

I'm not sure why the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted God's messenger from getting to Daniel for twenty-one days, but I know that it happened because it's chronicled in the Bible.

I don't know why my communications at work have been harnessed for a period, but I know that they have, and these verses confirmed that (purposed ceasing) to my heart today.  

Our battle might be invisible sometimes, but it's still a battle, and having the Bible confirm our struggle (and God's presence within it) is encouraging and empowering.  

 I knew it!  Something fishy is going on, and in reading Daniel 10, I felt God confirm that.

And to prove His point, I (interestingly) received two emails today.  Both were in response to emails that I had sent to two different individuals eight days ago. 

Eight days had passed, and then today, two people from different states each responded to me within one hour of each other.  It was as if the Lord was giving me proof of email responses being resisted and detained for days, and then being released.

But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me...  ~Daniel 10:13

I don't know: I can't quite explain the parallel, but I know it's there.

Brothers and Sisters, in the spiritual battles that we face today...we can know that God is there. We can know that if we will persevere...God wins. He is the Victor.

But that does not mean that we won't have days (maybe twenty-one or more), when our efforts are hindered, and the resistance may not be seen, but it is felt.

Keep working, keep believing, keep swimming, keep praying. Daniel's prayers are what initiated and enabled the angel to visit Him. And if Daniel had stopped praying on the twentieth day, who knows if the angel would have visited him after twenty-one days, but Daniel was faithful, and God is always faithful.

Even, and especially in our spiritual battles.

Are we in one today? The Lord is in it with us. Persevere. And be encouraged by God's Word: Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. (19) “Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,” he said. “Peace! Be strong now; be strong.” (Daniel 10:18-19).

Blessings, 

Sarah 

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com