OPINION (Charisma) – There was a time when someone suffering from a heart attack had little chance of survival because he or she didn’t know what was happening and ignored the symptoms until it was too late. Medical advancements began identifying common warning signs such as discomfort and pressure in the center of the chest, pain in one or both arms and shortness of breath. Spreading awareness of the warning signs has greatly increased the survival rate for heart attack victims. In a similar manner, many Christians seem to be blindsided by spiritual attacks. The goal of any spiritual attack is to turn you away from what God wants to do in your life. When it comes to a spiritual attack, it is crucial to recognize the warning signs for survival. Though there are more signs than this, here are seven major ones to be on the lookout for.
1. Loss of Spiritual Desire – We don’t live by feelings alone, but there is a difference between doing something merely out of obligation and doing something because you delight in it. Spiritual desire is evidenced by a heart on fire for God. As David said, “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh longs for You, in a dry and thirsty land with no water” (Ps. 63:1). When you delight in the Lord, nothing else compares. Someone passionate for God finds pleasure in the things of God. Losing your spiritual desire rarely happens deliberately. It happens slowly, and the changes in your heart are subtle. Life issues arise and begin cutting into your time in the Word. Before long, you are just too busy to read your Bible and renew your mind. You start feeling a disconnect when you pray, and before you know it you start spending less and less time in prayer. Soon you find reasons not to be in church. Worldly pursuits start taking the place of your pursuit of God. Instead of your heart being on fire, it becomes merely lukewarm. CONTINUE
