Tag Archive spiritual warfare

Don’t Feed The Animals – How I Learned To Remain In The Presence of God At ALL Times

In my previous post, In The Midst Of A Cloud, I mentioned the worry of becoming distracted and being drawn out of a continuous presence with God and the joy that only comes from Him.

What if an animal suddenly appeared in the fog and surprised me?

Well, sadly, in life it is inevitable. There will always be “animals” that come looking for food, water, or shelter. What makes the difference, however, is how we handle them.

In 2003, my two older children (who were both still babies at the time) and I moved with their father to Mesa, Arizona so that he could attend law school. I remember that on certain Saturday nights, the local news would put out a special about Arizona wildlife and how to live amongst the animals. The Phoenix metro area was quickly growing, people from all over the world were moving there, and new construction was being put up constantly. We humans had invaded the territory that they knew as their home and they were confused, and some were even angry. There were tips on what to do if a predator was in your yard, how to back away from a rattlesnake, who to call should you find a Gila monster, snake, coyote, or other wild animals on your property, and more. They included tales of forewarning with past examples, including one of a child that had been carried off by coyotes because the family kept feeding the coyotes and one day it showed up to find they had forgotten to put food out. Their biggest point that was made over and over: DON’T FEED THE ANIMALS!!!

I knew this from living in the country in Kentucky, and from stray cats in the suburbs of Southern California. Unless you want an animal to stick around, never offer it food or water. It becomes dependent on you and will refuse to leave, eventually annoying you and possibly cause grief in retaliation for its anger.

So how should we handle the “animals” and distractions in a spiritual sense? The same way, don’t feed the animals.

Stress, negative thinking, sin, drama, gossip, worry, anxiety… the list goes on. It will always be there. It is inevitable that we encounter some of these things occasionally if not on a daily basis. But do we feed it? Are you offering them water without even realizing it? Maybe they are just silently sitting in the corner enjoying the shelter. The Bible gives a clear instruction on how to avoid feeding these things with our thoughts and time:

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.  -Philippians 4:8

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. -2 Corinthians 10:3-6

No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. -2 Timothy 2:4

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. -1 Corinthians 10:31

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. -Matthew 6:21

And many, many, more…

 

If my thoughts and actions steer clear of the animals, when they appear I will be able to handle them in a way that my Father God approves of, especially if I am making the effort to stay in His continuous presence. HE MUST COME FIRST! However, if I take my eyes off of God and put them on the problem before me, I am leaving His presence to feed the animals. My mind quickly becomes overwhelmed and tired, unable to make sense of what is going on and missing the presence of my Savior.

It is not an easy effort to keep our flesh from luring us away from where our spirit wants to be. It has to be a constant conscious decision to stay in His lap and ask God how I should handle the animals. It requires studying the Word of God and applying scripture to each and every situation. Not feeding the animals means that sometimes, though I could possibly fix a situation, I can’t. I have to stand back and remove my hands from the project so that He can move or so that I am not dragged into a place where the cloud (see the previous post mentioned at the beginning of this post) can’t move to. While sometimes God will have me help a situation with something He has willed me to do, I have to pray and use discernment to know whether I am working in a safe garden or if there is a critter there waiting to bite me. From time to time, I have to refrain from conversations that would lead to feeding animals, possibly hurting the feelings of someone that does not understand. No, it is not easy, but it is SO worth it and over time it becomes more and more a second nature.

One key thing to remember, and though this is not the context that these scriptures intended, it makes a point:

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:26-28

18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.
20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.
Genesis 2:18-20

What do we learn from this? Read it a few times and see if you catch this as well:

1. God gave us dominion over the animals. We are not to be afraid of the animals! (I should write another post on how with scripture I overcame my intense phobia of snakes another time… I still steer clear though. No snake handling going on over here…) We have the right to tell the animals in our lives to get out of the way, we have dominion here and they are not to distract us. They are not allowed to control our mind or emotions. Oh, there’s a whole other blog post there, too… I’m sorry, and I used to be guilty of this, but your actions are not excused by your diagnosis. God has called you to act a certain way and clinging to a label that has been put on you instead of the name God gave you is not okay. Instead of Redeemed and Worthy, I used to answer to Anxiety, Victim, and more. I even expected others to know that was who I am and to cater to it. Don’t allow it! You were made for more!
2. God gave us other humans to help us. WE SHOULD NOT SHUT OUT OTHERS! While their actions may involve animals, the people are NOT the animals. We are to help them, they are to help us, we are to be companions. There should be LOVE and not repellent. Especially our spouses, children, families, and those we have entered into covenants of ministry with. Genesis 2:18 states it clearly, IT IS NOT GOOD THAT MAN SHOULD BE ALONE! As a recovering introvert that took it way too far, I repeat this to myself a ton. There is nothing wrong with wanting alone time or needing more quiet time than others. But it is not good for us to only seclude ourselves. He gave us spouses, family, church families, and friends for a purpose. If another person, however, is allowing the animals to overrun them, this is the time to distance ourselves so that our minds are not overtaken by the animals of stress and worry.
3. Adam named the creatures. I have always imagined this to have been such fun as he sat on a boulder and was like, “Hmm, let’s look at your features and temperament.” I think the image of a boulder comes from a drawing my Sunday School teacher (and cousin) Sis. Peggy showed me in my primary class, but it always brought me such delight. Did he name some of them funny names just for fun? I don’t know… But what are we naming the animals that are trying to distract us? Are we naming them things which they are not to make us feel more comfortable about keeping them around? Are we renaming gossip as concern? Are we renaming anxiety as natural? Oh, be careful little mouths what you name…

I have one last point I want to make with this, and it is the biggest.

Not feeding the animals includes our thoughts.

In fact, it is more our thoughts than anything, I believe. Think on these things Philippians 4:8, remember? Maybe we didn’t physically react to an animal. We ignored it and walked right into the house and it went on its way. But when you got in the house, did you sit at the window and wonder what happened to it? Did you lay awake and worry that it was going through your trash? Did you worry that it was a skunk and was going to spray and you’d have to smell it all night?

We have to take captive our thoughts, ladies! The moment an animal appears, we need to turn from it or rebuke it, depending on the situation, and then pray every time it comes to mind. We have to make a conscious decision to not dwell on the animal but to pray about it and move on. That’s it, it’s done. No calling a friend and talking about it more than to ask for prayer to the point that another animal, gossip, has been birthed. No allowing your thoughts to run wild until you forget you left the gate open and anxiety wanders in. Keep the gates closed, don’t feed the animals, and stay in His presence. It’s not easy, it’s not always pleasant, but it is necessary to keep the animals away.

I touched on this before, but I want to repeat it again: Always remember when it comes to the animals, Ephesians 6:12.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

In any situation, don’t start to feed and run with the animals. Wage not, meaning don’t gossip, argue, or act nasty. Don’t fret with anxiety. Your battle is not with another person. Our battle is with the enemy of our souls. Jesus already won that battle! So wage not, but intercede! Intercede in prayer for the situation and leave it at the foot of the cross.

 

Do you have some animals nagging at your door? Have you learned how to get them to leave? Are you in need of prayer? Feel free to comment here or join us in one of our Facebook groups. We’d love to hear from you!