Operating in the Opposite Spirit
WELCOME to Issue #211 of The Seedhead from Alex and Hannah at Dandelion Resourcing - a weekly confidence booster to help you step into naturally supernatural discipleship and mission!
A simple spiritual warfare exercise for when you find yourself facing opposition
A key way of engaging in spiritual warfare is operating in the opposite spirit.
This means that when you’re in a challenging spot, with opposition that feels spiritual in source or consequence, the Holy Spirit can empower you to fight back by choosing to live in an utterly contrasting way.
This can look like:
Being generous when money is tight
Showing kindness when faced with slander
Engaging in prayer ministry for the sick when stuck in illness yourself.
This is ‘opposite spirit’ practice is one that followers of Jesus have observed throughout church history. For instance, Evagrius Ponticus was a Christian leader and teacher in the second half of the 4th century. As one of the ‘Desert Fathers’ of Egypt, he especially did a lot of thinking around forms of spiritual warfare (including being the originator of what later became known as the 7 Deadly Sins).
One of Evagrius’ disciplines was to partner with the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures to speak to lies that were deceiving him. He modeled a powerful way where we can allow the Bible to shape and form us in our everyday ordinary lives.
Here’s how to implement the same strategy in your life (with thanks to Michael Petrila for a lot of this content!):
Divide a sheet of paper into three sections. In the first section, write the question, “What's the thought, feeling, or sensation?”
a. Write out an obsessive thought that keeps coming to mind, a lie that you just can't shake, a toxic feeling (like shame or worry), or a sensation in your body (like tightness of chest, shallow breathing, or a sense of dread). Thoughts, emotions, and sensations are separate only when they are written about as different chapters in a book. In your body, they overlap, collide, and mix together like a chemical reaction.
b. Example: ‘I'm worried about losing my job and not being able to make my car payment.’
In the second section, write the question, “What's the lie I’m believing?”
a. See if you can articulate the lie behind the thought, feeling, or sensation. For instance, if you're feeling scared and your chest is tight, it could be a belief that ‘I'm not safe if people criticize me’. If so, what's the untruth behind the anxiety? Could it be an attachment to living a suffering-free life where all people speak well of you? Safety isn't bad, but the need to be constantly safe can become a prison that holds us in fear and out of love.
b. Example: ‘My safety and security are in my job, and owning newer nicer things will make me happy.’
In the third section, write the question, “What's Jesus’ greater truth over this situation?”
a. Sit in silence to meditate, pray, and ask, “What do You Jesus say about this?” As you listen you might receive a picture, phrase, or a Scripture. Write out a Bible verse or word from the Spirit that counters the lie. Then turn your mind to this truth whenever the lie reappears in your mind. It will, many times, so don't be discouraged as it happens to all of us. Choose to resist the allure of the lie and to replace it with this greater truth from God.
b. Example: ‘I will keep my life free from the love of money, and be content with what I have, because God has promised, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).’
Next Steps
Take some time to go through this practice on your own, then gather together in groups of 2 or 3 to share your answers and pray for one another.
This is a disarmingly powerful exercise. Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6), and He will always have the perfect perspective on every situation and moment of our lives - past, present, and future. This means that He is the only one who can bring full deliverance from oppression and healing from inner hurts.
While this exercise won’t solve every problem, it is a meaningful starting point. For some things it will be enough to release freedom, while for other things it will help us better identify what is going on behind the scenes, ahead of seeking help from mature believers.
Don’t give in the lies of the evil one, no matter what!
With love,
Alex + Hannah
ALEX AND HANNAH ABSALOM
P.S. Jesus promised: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me… to proclaim freedom for the prisoners… to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)
