No, it’s not ‘warfare’

A common criticism of believers who identify as being charismatic or Pentecostal is that they (we) can often be too focused on spiritual warfare, on the activity of the devil, and on combating the principalities and of powers referenced by Paul in Ephesians 6:12 and are never satisfied with natural explanations for hardships. Often tagged super-spiritual, such people seem to see a demonic spirit behind every setback or sickness, and talk a lot about pulling down strongholds, rebuking the devil and so on… But is there any depth to such claims? Or are they out on a theological limb? Firstly the critics are right… but they are also wrong. This might be a bit longer than usual, but let me explain.

The critics are right (and wrong)

Firstly, it is true; some people look for the devil under every rock and credit demonic forces for every negative experience they are confronted with. The kids are sick; it’s warfare. Got a flat tyre; it’s warfare. Chaos at home or at work; warfare. Tension in relationships; warfare… the sound system is playing up… warfare. But is God’s protection and provision for his blood-bought people really that weak and vulnerable? Do we really have that many gaps in the wall? Are spiritual causes the only plausible explanations?

The main problem with this extreme way of living, as with all extremes, is theological. Yes, the devil is referred to as the ‘god of this world'[mfn]2 Corinthians 4:4[/mfn] and as the ‘prince of the power of the air'[mfn]Ephesians 2:2[/mfn], and Paul does teach that we ought not to be uninformed or unaware of the devil and his schemes[mfn]2 Corinthians 2:11[/mfn] lest we be taken advantage of. The problem, however, with assuming a demonic force behind everything wrong, painful or challenging is that we give the devil (and his cohorts) far more credit than he deserves. The devil is powerful, but not all-powerful. He is a fallen angel, not a fallen god[mfn]Luke 10:18; Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:14-18[/mfn]. He is not omnipresent, he is not omniscient, he’s not Omni-anything; God is.

Giving unwarranted credit to the devil empowers him within the mind of the believer, disabling our faith as we believe his lies and set up camp in the valley of unbelief. The one who believes the devil is in every shadow has a small God, and a big devil. Like Israel standing before Goliath, they are gripped with fear and not taking ground in their lives as they perceive their enemy is too much for them. Or, as is often the case, they see their lives as a constant fight, a tireless spiritual battle where they are up against demonic forces all day. Stress, struggle, anxiety, frustration and exhaustion usually follow. Does this way of living really fit with the Gospel? Did Jesus secure a victory and share it with us, only for us to experience a constant onslaught of warfare and defeat? Surely when Paul wrote But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, he actually meant it![mfn]1 Corinthians 15:57[/mfn]

But there is another, possibly worse, issue here. By spiritualising everything negative within a natural world, full of natural cause and effect, a created yet broken world that is writhing under the cause and effect of human sin, one removes all personal responsibility and ignores the laws of the created order.

Spiritualising every challenge or obstacle we face is nothing more than a failure to take personal responsibility for our lives. One of the devils greatest lies is that he is too much for us.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you – James 4:7

is sickness warfare?

Sickness can be from the devil, the book of Job (which I must stress, is the exception, not the rule) shows us that he can afflict us. Paul refers to a thorn in the flesh as being demonic in nature[mfn]2 Corinthians 12:7[/mfn]. And when Jesus heals a woman who had been hunched over, he claims to have been setting her free from 18 years of demonic bondage[mfn]Luke 13:10-17[/mfn]. But we can’t ignore the fact that much of the sickness and ailments we face are lifestyle-related. We know too well that sickness may be from poor diet, lack of exercise, bad sleeping habits, drinking chemical-laden energy drinks or having a high intake of sugar, processed carbs, salt or a myriad of other toxins. Then there are the issues faced by the developing world of having access to clean water, sanitary hygiene, air quality, and shelter. Add to that is the influence of DNA, biochemistry, hormones and hereditary issues, and you find yourself with a wide range of natural reasons why a person may be sick or suffering in their physical body. These things can’t be ignored, and they can’t be excused or overlooked by tagging their symptoms as ‘warfare’. Then there’s the complex tension that exists between mental health, spiritual attack and burnout.

Is Burnout is my fault?

I’ve been there, maybe you have been too. You’re worn down, tired, irritable, not feeling like you have grace for all you’re responsible for. Tension in relationships increase, family life seems more difficult than it should, ministry is a burden. It’s often in this moment we relate best to the older brother in Jesus parable about the prodigal son, and no, it’s not warfare.

Burn out is what happens to an oil lamp that has run out of oil. It stops burning the oil, starts burning the wick, then eventually runs out of fuel and… you guessed it, it burns out. The issue is not the size of the flame, but the lack of oil. It’s not the amount of pressure or warfare you are under, but the amount of fuel you have. It’s what happens when we operate under our own strength, forsaking grace we strive in human effort, slaving away like that older brother, and fail to refuel in the presence of God. It isn’t warfare. It could be poor time management, saying yes to too many things, trying to do things you’re not graced or called to do. It could be the result of being impatient with God and running ahead of God’s plan instead of waiting on him. It could that be we took on too much out of a need to prove ourselves; that’s pride. It could be we took on too much out of a need to approve of ourselves; that’s human effort. In reality, when I face burnout, the question is rarely about the level of warfare I think I’m experiencing, but what is it that is deep in my heart that drove me to take on more than I should have? What underlying issue caused me to neglect the presence of God and stopped me from refuelling and straying fresh. When burnout approaches, we’ve either done too much in the flesh, or not enough in the spirit, and we’ve messed up the work-fuel balance.

Paul said that he worked harder than anyone, but that it was actually grace that worked through him[mfn]1 Corinthians 15:10[/mfn]. This was his secret to living under intense pressure, enduring many hardships, working hard for the sake of the gospel and not getting burned out. He understood the level and measure of grace given to him, and he partnered with it. He didn’t get ahead, nor lag behind, but stayed in step with grace.

So, burn out could be that you just have too much on your plate. Too many hats to wear. Multiple wicks but only one vessel of oil that you don’t have time or capacity to refuel quick enough. You can’t be all things to all men (just because Paul had the grace for this does not mean you and I do too), you are a limited commodity, rare and precious, and absolutely worth looking after! Even God rested on the 7th day! If you can’t rest, or let a few plates fall, you need to ask the Lord, why can’t I? What within me is stuck in striving? What am I trying to prove? Or am I trying to be approved of through what I do?

Another important factor connected with burnout, is the issue of mental health and it’s very real challenges, but I’ll come back to this later on.

Back to sickness

Sickness did not enter the world through the devil. Sickness came as part of the fall in Genesis 3, along with its close companion death. It entered our world as a bi-product of sin. Does that mean every sickness is a result of sin? Not directly. A person is not sick because they sinned. Jesus himself was dismissive of this elementary interpretation when the disciples asked him if the blind man was blind because of his own sin or his parent’s sin[mfn] John 9[/mfn]. But sickness and death did enter our world through the original sin in the garden. Ever since then, sickness has been something we have had to deal with. The point is, not all sickness has a demon behind it. Jesus healed the sick and then also cast demons out of people. Two different ways of ministering to people based on their needs; some needed both, but not all!

In the same way that sickness entered our world through human sin, so did all the brokenness that we experience. All types of suffering, heartache, pain, stress, anxieties and troubles come through that original sin. The devil doesn’t make us sin either, sin happens when we are lead away by the evil desires in our own hearts, But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death[mfn]James 1:14-15[/mfn] The pain and suffering we experience in relationships, the anger, abuse, hurtful words, jealousy, lust, greed, selfishness, accusation, betrayal, gossip, etc., all flow out of the evil desires of sin within the human heart. A world full of sin is ripe for suffering and hardships, and while perhaps you could blame the devil for tempting Eve, we can’t blame the devil for what our our hearts are lured away by. What if the tension at home isn’t warfare, but the result of two sinners trying to work out their salvation while still making mistakes and learning to love and forgive and follow Christ? What if the awful atmosphere at work or school isn’t warfare, but the result of sinful people behaving selfishly out of their own insecurities and fears? What if you had a flat tire because you drove over a screw? This is not an attempt to diminish or hide the realities of spiritual warfare, but to highlight the fact that we live in a fallen world full of suffering.

Endure suffering

The apostle’s answer for suffering was to tuck your shirt in, stand up straight, and keep marching! Out of the 27 times the New Testament uses the word endure, 20 of them relate to us enduring suffering, or hardships, or the life of faith in general.

As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

2 timothy 4:5

Modern Christians need to rediscover the doctrines of suffering.

Suffering is not always warfare that we ought to avoid or be rescued from. Often it is simply the hardships of life that we are commended to endure for the sake fo the Gospel. We don’t look for the easy way out, we don’t give up when it gets hard, we don’t feel forsaken or alone when we go through the valley – we realise God is going through it with us and we learn, like Paul and Silas, to sing in the Philippian prisons we find ourselves in[mfn]Psalm 23:4; Acts 16:25[/mfn].

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing – James 1:2-3

How can we count our trials and sufferings as joy if we always count them as warfare? We cannot. And if never develop the robust mindset of our forefathers, like James, we will cut short God’s process for developing steadfastness in our souls which is the key to being mature and complete. Is it any wonder that spiritual immaturity is rife within the western church right now? We’ve lost the art of suffering well. In Colossians 1:24 Paul writes this startling claim, Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church… On a surface level it seems blasphemous! But it’s not. Paul is not claiming that Christs work on the cross was somehow insufficient and that he, Paul, needs to suffer in order to add to what Christ did and complete it. A quick skim read through all of Paul’s other writings will tell you thats not what Paul taught at all. So what is he saying? Paul is talking about the fact that it was the crucified, suffering servant that is Christ, that was able to draw people to the Father and enable them to receive mercy. Just as the world is saved through the suffering of Jesus, that work continues as Jesus suffering is experienced and expressed through his body, the church. The world does not need to see a strong, shiny, got it together church. It needs to see the suffering, sacrificial love of God displayed through a crucified Christ. When we suffer joyfully and endure hardships for the sake of providing a better witness of the Gospel, the world has a much clearer view of Christ alive is us.

If the devil can convince you to believe that all suffering is his work, that it needs to be resisted, fought, pulled down and rebuked, then we will never suffer well and the world will not see the crucified Christ in the church.

So is there a devil in the sound desk?

‘There’s a devil in the sound system!’ says the super-spiritual person whenever there’s an issue with the P.A system in the church. First of all, it’s quite possible, and most likely, that there is a natural (and technological) explanation for why there is a sound issue. When you take multiple pieces of technology, made by different companies, relying on software that was not made by the hardware manufacturers, and connect them all together, you will almost certainly have the occasional issue. If you only ever use your system on Sundays, then that’s the only possible time you will experience these issues. Maybe it’s not the devil, maybe it’s just that using multiple pieces of technology simultaneously is just as much an art as it is a science.

Secondly, to my knowledge, there is no reference in scripture for an unclean spirit, or demon, ever being in or influencing anything other than living creatures. When the ark of God was put in the temple of Dagon, in 1 Samuel 5, the statue of Dagon fell down each morning and did nothing to fight back. There was certainly a demon being worshipped by those who worshipped Dagon, but that demon did not appear to manipulate or control his sacred statue in any way – certainly not in the presence of God! Many times throughout the Gospels we see Jesus cast demons out of people, not ‘things’. Even when the ‘legion’ of demons begged Jesus not to cast them into the abyss, they asked to go into living creatures, a heard of pigs![mfn]Mark 15:12[/mfn] Does that mean demons can’t influence inanimate objects? No, not specifically. I know of people who have seen and experienced many strange and scary things in the occult, but scripture does not warn us or teach us about being concerned with it, so I think it’s safe to say it’s not meant to be a big issue or a regular one.

In Acts 19 many former magicians, occultists and those involved in witchcraft burned their books after receiving the Gospel, as they had clearly met a greater power in Jesus than anything they had seen or experienced before. We should be encouraged by their confidence, knowing that greater is he who is in us, than he who is in the world[mfn]1 John 4:4[/mfn]. So is a demon in the sound system? I would highly doubt it. When demons wanted to disrupt Jesus they did not start messing around with inanimate objects, instead, they cried out, using the vocal cords of whomever it was they were operating through to shout and disrupt the meeting[mfn]Mark 1:23, Mark 3:11, Luke 4:33, Luke 8:28[/mfn]

CONVERSeLY, The critics are wrong

The danger these critics face is that in order to make their point, they pull so hard away from anything ‘warfare’ related that they begin to become ignorant of the devil and his schemes, precisely what the apostle Paul warned we ought not to be[mfn]2 Corinthians 2:11[/mfn]. They stick their head in the proverbial sand and assume that there are always and only natural explanations for trouble, trials and suffering. This is classic pendulum thinking, where in order to pull away from a perceived error, we swing too far and end up in an equally erroneous position. Instead of focusing on proving someone else wrong, we ought focus on what the Bible says.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 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 firm.” — Ephesians‬ ‭6:10-13‬

Paul’s warning cannot be swept under the rug of personal preference or cultural Christendom. Just because some people foolishly over spiritualise things and see demonic influence in their burnt toast, does not mean that demonic influence is not a reality in the world you and I live in.

Consider Daniel. This ancient prophet had a lot of dreams and visions, one in particular he finds rather disturbing and while fasting 3 weeks he has a vision of an angel coming to give him understanding (See all of Daniel 10 for the full encounter). The angel tells Daniel, from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days[mfn]Daniel 10:12-14[/mfn]

Somehow, Daniels fasting correlated to this angels 21 days of contention with a principality named the Prince of the kingdom of Persia, which this angel needed help in getting past. Does this mean that these demonic forces can stop us from hearing God’s answers to our prayers? No. It means they may try and interrupt or interfere, attempting to distract or distort, but they can not stop God from getting his message through when we are diligent, like Daniel, to ask and keep asking, to listen and keep listening[mfn]Matthew 7:7-8[/mfn] So, there are indeed times when we need to pray ‘warfare prayers’ and pull down the strongholds and powers that are working against us,

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4

Daniel’s angel finishes speaking to Daniel about the vision he had and then reports that he is returning to the fight in the heavens, saying “But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come. But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince”[mfn]Daniel 10:20-21[/mfn] This is a fascinating window into the spiritual realm and the war that rages between angels and the principalities of darkness, and it seems that only 2 angels are needed for the fight.

A lot of conjecture and theory has been produced over the years by well-intentioned people trying to explore the angelic realm and how it works. While these explanations and thoughts are interesting and at times quite intriguing, scripture itself is rather quiet on the details of how this all works. I believe this is partly because it’s not pertinent to our salvation (which is what the scriptures have been written and preserved for), and also because the Lord knows that we, as fallen humans, already have a propensity towards taking our eyes off Christ and the more we know about angels the more likely we are to worship them. This is something that the angels themselves do not tolerate, after all, they are just messengers of God and in no way compare to the majesty, power and glory of Christ[mfn]Hebrews 1:3, 13-14[/mfn]

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”– Revelation 22:8-9

the 3 heavens

Scripture is clear that there are three heavens and that it is in the second heaven where there is a lot of demonic activity that is trying to penetrate and disrupt our lives. It was this second heaven where Daniel’s angelic messenger was being resisted by the Prince of Persia.

The first heaven is the natural one, the stars, sun, moon and beyond. It’s these ‘heavens’ that Abraham looked up into in order to count the stars. The second heaven is where the principalities and powers of demonic forces reside, for they cannot, after all, reside in the same ‘heaven’ as the Lord of Glory! And since the Lord is enthroned in ‘the highest heavens’ it stands to reason that this must be the third heaven where Paul[mfn]2 Corinthians 12:2[/mfn] and John were called up to[mfn]Revelation 4:1[/mfn] (See the image above).

The war in your head

When Peter rebuked Jesus for talking about the cross, Jesus response was chilling; get behind me Satan[mfn]Matthew 16:23[/mfn]. At this moment, Peter’s perspective was aligned with Satan’s, so instead of representing the kingdom of heaven, Peter was speaking out of the flesh, out of the things of man and not of God. He was being influenced by the second heaven, not the third.

“Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” – Matthew 16:23

When our thoughts and motivations are being guided by our flesh, that is, our carnal unredeemed nature, we are by default out of alignment with the purposes of God. I do not believe that Peter was ‘possessed’ by satan at this moment. Surely if Peter was possessed, Jesus would have rebuked the unclean spirit and cast it out as he did consistently throughout his ministry. There’s no evidence in the Gospel to suggest that Jesus ever encountered a person with a demonic spirit that he did not cast out of the person. Rather, Jesus was speaking to the spirit whose opinion Peter was vocalising or representing and in doing so he was teaching his disciples, and us, a powerful truth; when our minds are not set on the things of God, but on the things of man, we become susceptible to the influence and agenda of the enemy. The war really is in your head, hence we are commended that, if then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God – Colossians 3:1-3

This is why it is so important to seek the Lord when we are stressed, hard pressed or under the pump at work, home, in ministry or within any or our relationships. We need to see things from his perspective to ensure the remedy we come up with to solve the problem comes from a mind set on the things of God, and not on man.

yes, demons are real

At this point, it shouldn’t need to be said, yet it does. Demons and unclean spirits are real. Scripture is littered with descriptions of people being delivered and set free from them. A short conversation with anyone who has dabbled in, or been saved out of, the occult will tell you demons are real! Spiritual darkness is not hyperbole, it’s not some exaggeration that Christian parents created to try and scare their children into obedience. It is real. We were, after all, saved out of the domain of darkness[mfn]Colossians 1:13[/mfn]. The East has no problem with this, but in the West, we are ‘too smart’ for such ‘unevolved thinking’. Western science, medicine and psychology refuse to acknowledge what the rest of the world, and the rest of history, understand as fact; demons and unclean spirits were, and still are, real. Knowing how to resist them, refuse them, and cast them out, are all important things every Christian ought to know how to do. It’s part of the job description; Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay[mfn]Matthew 10:8, Mark 16:17[/mfn]

That demons are real is why God regularly condemned the practice of necromancy (speaking to spirits of the dead) or the use of mediums and witchcraft[mfn]Deuteronomy 18:11, Leviticus 19:31, 20:6, 20:27 and so on[/mfn]. They were condemned because they involved communicating with, and engaging with, the demonic spirits in the second heaven and their cohorts who roam the earth looking for a clean house to inhabit.[mfn]Matthew 12:43-45[/mfn]

Prayer is speaking into the third heaven, to the spirit of God. Witchcraft is speaking to any other spirit.

Jude makes an interesting comment, in Jude 1:9, that even the angel Michael did not engage in judging the devil when debating over the body of Moses, but said the Lord rebukes you. The wider context here is that we ought not to be afraid of demonic spirits, for the spirit of the Lord within us is greater, but we should be wise and not treat such spiritual forces with humour, or casually with contempt. These are real forces, and we ought to respect their power without being threatened or insecure about it.

A real problem: low BQ

You’ve heard of IQ for intelligence, and EQ for emotional capacity, but I want to address BQ: Biblical Quota

Too many Christians have a low BQ and wrongly interpret situations and circumstances they’re confronted with as spiritual warfare when in fact, they’re not. There are so many reasons we face hardships, sickness, setbacks and suffering (as discussed above), and often the cause is not demonic in nature. A well-rounded understanding of scripture helps us avoid this mistaken identification, enabling us to endure suffering joyfully when we should and not live under the constant sense that we’re being attacked and might not make it. It also helps us to discern when something is actually warfare related, equipping us with the insight to pray, rebuke and take authority in the spirit when we need to.

I heard one preacher say, ‘Jesus never encountered a storm he didn’t silence’. It’s cute and technically true as far as the Gospel accounts are concerned, but it’s poor theology. The inference this pastor was making was that every ‘storm’ you face should come under the authority of Jesus and be silenced as Jesus did in Mark 4:39. It means to say that every storm in life is by nature demonic, and every current and torrent of disruption and trauma is demonic and should be told to ‘be still!’ The problem is, Jesus is not a different God from the God of the Old Testament. He is the I Am, the fullness of the Father, the Word made flesh. He is the same God who sent a storm after the disobedient prophet Jonah and the same God who descended on Mt Sinai in a storm. Imagine Jonah trying to say ‘be still’ to the storm that was pursuing him. He would be trying to rebuke God!

Jesus is the same God who refused to stop Paul and his companions from being shipwrecked by a storm because he wanted to show the sailors his mercy via another means[mfn]Read the full story in Acts 27[/mfn]. Just because it’s a catchy phrase doesn’t make it Biblical. You cannot create a theology that divorces Christ from the nature of God revealed throughout the rest of scripture. Does that make me uncomfortable at times? You bet! But deciding which parts of God I let Jesus embody and which parts he can’t isn’t up to me. That would be making God in my image. Just consider Paul’s description of Christ in his letter to the Colossians;

He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross – Colossians 1:15-20

Either Jesus is fully God, or not God at all.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are those who do not sense or interpret the reality of spiritual warfare at all due to their low BQ. They are as Paul hoped they would not be, ignorant[mfn]2 Corinthians 2:11[/mfn] and simply unaware of what is really going on around them in the spiritual dimension.

A believer with a high BQ considers the full revelation of scripture, understanding that spiritual warfare is a very real factor, yet so is the natural world of cause and effect. When Timothy had consistent ailments, Paul didn’t blame the devil and tell Timothy to pray harder and resist better, he told Timothy to drink a little wine![mfn]1 Timothy 5:23[/mfn] Paul suggested a natural remedy for a natural problem, for if the issue was spiritual warfare, surely Paul would have known.

If you’re always tired, perhaps you need more sleep, or perhaps you’re low on iron, or maybe there is some warfare you need to discern and get victory in. If you’re stressed and anxious, perhaps you have too much on your plate and need to say no to some things in order to say yes to what matters most. But if you see the devil in every detail of disappointment or disruption, you might need to refresh your understanding of the Gospel and spend some time studying the scriptures with some trusted, more mature believers. The reason why we suffer and why we face trials and challenges are as varied as the trials themselves, but rest assured, the devil didn’t burn your toast, just dial it down a touch.

Mental health is a real thing

If you injure your back, you might see a chiropractor. If you have muscle issues, a physio. If you’re sick you see a medical doctor. Seeing someone who is a professional, trained and educated in helping you take care of certain parts of your physical body is normal. So what happens when your brain is hurt? What if your brain chemistry is out of balance?

Obviously, with all our issues, the first thing to do is pray and seek the Lord for insight and wisdom. But having said that, the stigma associated with poor mental health is a scourge, especially among Christians. It’s true, you can’t medicate a demon. I’ve heard it, I may have even said it, you can’t medicate a demon, you can only cast it out. The problem is, that’s only true if there is a demon in the first place. We need to get better at understanding the frailty of the mind, at providing space and grace for those whose mental health needs assistance and nurture. No one looks down on a person with a broken arm who has gone and got it set in a cast, so why do we look differently at those who seek out a counsellor or psychologist? Yes, we must pray. Yes, we must believe in miraculous healing, breakthrough, and restoration… but we mustn’t shame those who need to get help, while we continue to pray. If you need to, talk to a professional, preferably a mature Christian one if you can. And do it, not out of fear, but in faith.

We need to stop treating the mentally sick like lepers. Untouchable. To be kept at a distance outside the gate. We need to get better at loving, esteeming, exhorting and walking alongside those who are on a journey of wholeness in their minds. Be gentle with the weak. Don’t condemn people as second rate citizens of heaven because they have challenges in the mind. Don’t heap on the shame or look down on them, it could just as easily be me or you in their position one day.

Burnout and mental health

I told you we’d come back to it. What if the reason a person is often on the brink of burnout is not just due to them not having refuelled in the presence of God? What if the issue is layered and multifaceted like most things in life are? What if the physical infrastructure of their brain is fighting against them? What if the imbalances in their neurochemistry make it harder for them to cope than it does for others with similar life and load? These are questions that need to be asked on a personal, case by case basis in a safe, spiritually mature environment. The church needs to be mature enough to be able to host and facilitate these discussions, especially if it is a leader or pastor who is struggling.

Does that mean we should give people with consistent mental health challenges major influence or positions of leadership? No, of course not. That would not be loving to them, or those they would be seeking to lead. It would only load them up and make their next fall even more painful. Does it mean they have no place to use their gifts? No, each should use whatever gift he/she has received, according to their faith, and according to the level of grace they have, to the glory of Christ. Wise leadership and discernment is needed to help such people find a place of contribution and belonging, while also championing their journey towards better mental health and a fruitful spiritual life.

So, sometimes it’s not warfare, sometimes a person’s mind is under so much pressure and under more strain than they have the physical capacity for. The mind is like any other muscle, of it lifts too much weight it can get injured. And like any other muscle, or can be healed and made stronger with the right help and guidance. Yet, as the Gospels so often reveal, many people who were dysfunctional within society were actually being harassed and overtaken by unclean spirits that needed to be cast out, which Jesus and his disciples did regularly. You can’t medicate a demon, and you can’t cast out a neurochemical imbalance – but we must believe that both can yield to the name of Jesus and to the remedies he makes available to us. This requires much discernment, wisdom, faith and compassion. In short, it takes love.

Do you often feel a lot of warfare?

If you do find yourself in this boat, often pointing to warfare, often getting tired, or sick, or maybe just frustrated or feeling burned out, maybe there are other factors to consider as well as what is happening in the spiritual realm. Maybe you need to pull back, get help, walk a little slower, rest a little longer, take off a few hats that aren’t “necessary” without abandoning key relationships likes your marriage or kids, but those additional things. The extra stuff. When Jesus got to Jacobs well in Samaria, John tells us he sat down because he was tired. Jesus got tired too. He was so worn out he slept on a boat… in a storm! I don’t think he slept in the boat because he was so confident, but because he was physically worn out! He expected the disciples to have the faith needed to deal with it and get to shore, so he didn’t help row the boat. He slept. It’s important that we know when to stop rowing. Take a Sabbath moment or day, or more. To find the unforced rhythms of grace and to live in the very real victory afforded us through Christ and his death. If you need to, get professional help to learn how to fall into the rhythms of rest that suit you best. Increase your BQ, do some regular study, join or start a small group, sign up for Bible college, ask your pastors how to develop your spiritual intelligence. Learn what the armour of God is and how to ‘put it on’ in the patterns of your thinking. Whatever you do, don’t keep boxing the air waiting for things to just get better. You’re too valuable, too precious and too wonderful to wear yourself out fighting the devil at every turn. There is a better way, I encourage you to find it.

What about you?

If you made it to the end of this long post, well done. You made it! Now that you’re here, how you feel? What are you thinking? Was this helpful? Did it answer questions or just raise more? I’d love to know, leave a comment below and if you think this was useful to you, do someone else a favour and share it with them, it may be useful to them as well.