“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches
Unless a room is completely empty and the door is closed, there will still be dark shadows when the light is turned on. Maybe the shadow is caused by a table holding cherished possessions or idols. Maybe it is cast by a picture propped on the dresser. Let's say it is a picture of a person receiving an award we will call it pride. Maybe the shadow is caused by the open door of sin. As long as there is a shadow, there is a place for the enemy to work. The room should be clear of anything that may cause a shadow and the door should be closed, but it's a process.
So God asks several times that the picture of pride be put away so a shadow is not cast on the wall, but we pretend to not hear Him at first. As He continues to make His request we focus on other minor things that are easy for us to put away. He tells us again. We become defensive. "It's the only thing I ever won. It's just a picture. It's not my fault. Why doesn't anyone else have to put their picture away?" I had to throw that last one in there because no matter how childish it sounds, we ask it. Then God stands back and he allows the devil to roam in those shadows and we find out the hard way that we have an issue with pride. We have asked God several times to heal our hearts and minds, but we resist when He gives us instruction. When the devil gets in there and we feel the pain, we ask God where He was the whole time the enemy was abusing us. Aren't we cute?
I am beginning to see spiritual warfare more as a courtroom. The enemy is our accuser. He twists the truth into a lie. He accuses us of having pride. We do, it's sitting on our dresser. The best way to defend ourselves is to humbly put away the picture before he even pulls the accusation from his bag of tricks. Our flesh is the weakness that he uses against us. He accuses us of being judgmental. In our flesh we are judgmental, but through Christ we are forgiven. "Through Christ I am whole" is our defense.
Another way of looking at it: as we grow up we learn to build walls around us for our own protection. The wall is high enough to block the light and as that demon of fear joins us inside the wall we are both comfortable. Demons find homes where they can rest and as long as we are in agreement with them, about fear for example, there is no conflict within the walls we share. Maybe it's a wall of pride or judgment, as long as we are in agreement with the enemy he can dwell in the darkness we have created and be in harmony with us. It's when God exposes the truth about these walls to us that the warfare begins. God is on the outside of the wall talking to us about tearing it down and letting His light in and the enemy is on the inside with us whispering that everything is fine, we can't change if we wanted to, and if we are really quiet maybe God will forget. As long as we stay in harmony with him, he can rest and we don't have to fight.
So let's go back to that room full of shadows and dark places. Under the bed is a very dark place and I think we should call it sexual sin. Maybe you are having an affair, looking at porn or refusing sex with your spouse to get even. Whatever it is you are snuggled up under that bed with the enemy. God is the light in the middle of the room asking, "Where are you?", though He knows exactly where you are. The enemy is whispering to you all the reasons you are justified in your actions, "You're in love with that other person, your spouse doesn't love you enough", or whatever it is. You finally drag yourself out from under the bed and stand in the light, but the enemy grabs your ankle. You say, "God I can't do this, you are going to have to help me." Have you ever had a small child help you move something heavy? God could snap His fingers and the bed would be gone, but to teach us, He lets us help Him move the bed out of the room. We aren't really doing much but tripping Him up and getting in His way, but He smiles down at us with parental approval at our willingness and immature thinking. Our only real part in moving the bed is in asking Him to do it and staying out of the way by following.
So why does God allow Satan to get near us? He has already been beaten so why even allow him to roam on this earth? Think about what it would be like if he wasn't here. Wouldn't we be following our flesh all the time, with no taste of what hell is like? The only pain we might see is the pain of a disciplining Christ and that would only make Him look bad in our fleshy eyes. We have to experience the darkness to appreciate, acknowledge and truly see and understand the light.
“In a futile attempt to erase our past, we deprive the community of our healing gift. If we conceal our wounds out of fear and shame, our inner darkness can neither be illuminated nor become a light for others.”
― Brennan Manning, Abba's Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate BelongingExpanded Edition: New Preface and Discussion Guide by the Author
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