We Don't Fight Flesh and Blood

   Relationships...are a huge part of life. We are surrounded by them...in the workplace, at schools, churches, in our homes. Many times throughout life, unless we avoid people, we will experience difficulties in relationships to some degree or another. If we don't know how to handle these, we may become very uncomfortable, and respond in ways that make the situations we face far worse than they were to begin with.
   There are many ways people respond to sticky situations: some run, some deny there is an issue, some explode, some laugh. Some situations require different responses, too. Sometimes it is the best thing to let it rest and move on. But sometimes its best to face it and openly communicate by asking questions, such as, "Is this what you meant to say", or "Can you rephrase that so i can make sure i understand", or some other non-threatening question that opens communication. But that's not really what i came here to talk about today.
   The thing i want to discuss is what can be behind some relationship issues. Before i go there, i want to make sure you know i don't believe we should focus on the dark side. I believe the more we invite light and love into our lives, the better off we will be. However, if you are facing a really big relationship issue that seems to keep popping up or refuses to find a resolution, you may be facing something more than a relationship problem. What i want us to remember is we don't fight 'flesh and blood', but rather against spiritual forces in heavenly realms, etc. (Ephesians 6:12). Sometimes it is very important to remember this when dealing with problems.
   If there is someone in your life who consistently misunderstands you, and it appears as though they want to twist your words, it could be it is not them at all but perhaps a spirit who is getting between the two of you. If that happens, you can quietly pray and take authority over spirits that may be coming against you or twisting your words before you meet with that person. Keep in mind that these spirits could be doing the same to their words before they come to you. Fear is an example of a spirit that will cause us to hear things people are not saying. I experienced this recently, and was amazing when i got rid of fear, how differently i perceived the words spoken to me after that.
   This morning, i was having an issue with one of my sons, and it was escalating out of control, and he was behaving badly, and i was becoming angry too, which caused him to feel even more unsafe. So we all took a deep breath, i had another of my sons come over and we talked gently with him to help him calm down, and we asked each other for forgiveness for some things, cleared the air, and asked if we could pray with him. It took some more gentle explanations before he was open to it, but then he allowed it and we invited the light of Jesus in and took authority over division and some other things we felt were at play, and BAM! He was a different child and immediately recognized he had been influenced by spirits that had been twisting my words.
   I want to share this story with you to empower you if you face situations like these.You do not want to imagine evil spirits everywhere, but you do need to be aware of them.I believe we need to focus on inviting light in as opposed to casting out darkness. You cannot openly deal with all situations as i did with my son in the privacy of our home. Sometimes you need to pray quietly alone. God can still move in those situations. Many times making sure our hearts are in the right place can take care of problems, but it is so important to realize we do have an enemy who doesn't want us to have good relationships or to succeed in life, and he will mess with us if we get too close to what he considers his territory! So please, take away with you today, that we are not fighting people, but rather, spiritual forces, and remember to fight those forces rather than those you love!