When you’re under attack…
It’s a phrase many of us have said at some point in our Christian journey and it definitely won’t be the last. “I’ve just really felt like I’m under attack lately…”
The scene is familiar: We’ve been trying to live out our faith but we find ourselves feeling discouraged. Old habits we thought long laid to rest are resurrected. Lies we once believed about ourselves resurface. We lack the desire to pray, to be in The Word and feel a hopelessness slowly spreading into areas where we once found joy.
Why is this happening?
The Apostle Paul explains in Ephesians 6,“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
We are in the middle of a real spiritual battle. Satan and demonic powers are very real and if they can’t keep you from placing your faith and trust in Jesus as your Lord and savior, they will do everything they can to keep you from bearing spiritual fruit.
How do we prepare for these attacks so we aren’t blindsided or caught off guard?
Paul gives us a lot of great advice in Ephesians 6 about putting on the full armor of God and to stand firm. I would encourage you to read though Ephesians 6:10-18. It’s powerful.
But when the enemy encircles our souls like a besieging army, it’s a bit too late to be thinking about building up your walls. If you’re feeling under attack, odds are it’s in a key area of your life where the enemy knows you’re weak. Just think about it… where does the enemy know you struggle? These are the low points in your walls that need to be fortified.
From a strategic standpoint, what if there were certain patterns when it came to spiritual attack that we could begin to account for? What if there were a sort of “rules of engagement” that could help us dial in what we are experiencing and to help us better prepare for the next time we are under attack so that it doesn’t hit us so hard?
Thankfully, St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits began to notice that there were and are patterns around the ways that God moves in our lives as well as how the enemy works. Taking his experience, Ignatius began a work called “Rules for Discernment” to help followers of Jesus to make sense of what they were experiencing; to recognize patterns of consolation and desolation.
Utilizing Timothy Gallagher’s book on the Rules of Discernment titled “The Discernment of Spirits: An Ignatian Guide for Everyday Living”, we’re going to cover 14 rules (or axioms) that will help you in your struggles and joys of everyday life. As you read through these rules, consider:
Have I experienced this in my spiritual walk at some point in the past?
Does this resonate with the current season of life I’m in?
What is God’s invitation to me right now in light of where I find myself?
Rules of Discernment
Rule 1: Moving Away from God
For individuals accustomed to living in a way contrary to God’s design, the enemy will encourage them to imagine sensual pleasures and other temptations to strengthen his grip by deepening their vices. The Holy Spirit will convict their consciences through their rational power of moral judgement.
Rule 2: Moving Towards God
For individuals striving to honor God by turning from sin, the enemy of our soul will bite, sadden, and obstruct our attempts using false reason and any other means to hinder our growth. The Holy Spirit will give courage and strength, consolation, tears, inspirations, quieting the false reasoning and removing all obstacles to encourage our growth.
Rule 3: Spiritual Consolation
Individuals experience consolation when there is an interior movement in their soul, through which they are overcome by a deep love that no earthly attachment can compare. Consolation can also look like tears from being moved by ones love of God, sorrow for one’s sins, passion for Christ or anything else directly ordered to his service and praise. Consolation is any increase in hope, faith, charity, and all interior joy that draws one towards heavenly things and to the salvation of one’s soul, quieting it and giving it peace in its Creator and Lord.
Rule 4: Spiritual Desolation
Individuals experience desolation when there is an interior movement in their soul, through which they are overcome by a deep darkness of the soul. Desolation is characterized by heaviness, sadness and a lack of energy for living. There is a general angst, temptations and agitation, lack of confidence, lack of hope and love. Desolation is also marked by a slothfulness and sadness as though one has been separated from God. The thoughts in desolation are contrary to all that God has confirmed in seasons of consolation.
Rule 5: Spiritual Desolation - A Time for Fidelity
When in desolation, never make a change or question what God has confirmed or we have resolved to do in consolation. In consolation the Holy Spirit is guiding and leading. In desolation the enemy of our soul seeks to cloud our judgment and talk us down from faithful obedience.
Rule 6: Spiritual Desolation - A Time for Initiative
Once we are aware of our desolation and can begin to reflect on being in desolation, we can begin to be set free from bondage and follow the Lord. Because we will be tempted to change our resolutions to faithful obedience in desolation, we should set ourselves resolutely against the enemy by increasing our prayer, meditation, and examining ourselves. Be mindful of escapism and diversions and press in where the enemy tempts you to lean out. Tempted to stop praying? Pray for five minutes extra.
Rule 7: Spiritual Desolation - A Time for Resistance
Remember that while desolation can feel hopeless and meaningless, God intends that there would be meaning and purpose. Once this darkness has acquired meaning in God it gives us new energy to resist and reject the desolation itself. The enemy wants us to forget while the Lord wants us to remember the dynamic work He is doing in us. We are not alone and we can resist because His grace is sufficient. Take courage and press in for you “are not alone” (John 16:32).
Rule 8: Spiritual Desolation - A Time for Patience
Be patient and take the frame of mind believing that this desolation will soon end by diligently using the means of rule six to combat desolation.
Rule 9: The Reasons for Desolation
Desolation is rooted in three primary causes:
1. We have been tepid, slothful, or negligent in our spiritual practices which has resulted in the withdrawal of spiritual consolation
2. We are being tested to see if we love the created more than the creator. To see if we love God for His benefits or for He Himself.
3. To humble us in recognizing that Spiritual Consolation is a gift that we cannot attain, maintain, and that increased devotion, love, tears or any other spiritual consolation is a sheer gift of grace from God. This humbles us and keeps us from becoming proud as though we had somehow earned it. It is all a grace and a gift.
Rule 10: Spiritual Consolation - A Time to Prepare
If you are in consolation, use that time to prepare for how you’ll respond when desolation inevitably comes. After every mountain is a valley - take the perspective, new way of thinking and strength gained at the top with you. How will I respond in future spiritual desolation?
Rule 11: Spiritual Consolation and Desolation - Finding Balance
Lower the mountains and fill in the valleys. When we become aware of the ebb and flow of Spiritual Consolation and Spiritual Desolation, beware of the extremes. In consolation don’t let your zeal lead you to over commit and exhaust yourself. In desolation, recognize it and refuse to let it drag you to the depths of hopelessness. Beware the naively “high” and the despairingly “low”.
Rule 12: Stand Firm from the Start
The enemy of our soul - when met with firm resolve melts away, but when met with weakness is fueled to a relentless ferocity. Confront temptation firmly, doing what is diametrically opposed to them and you will overcome. But hesitate for even a moment and he will attack with a fierce strength.
Rule 13: Breaking the Spiritual Silence
The enemy of our soul functions like false lover seeking to woo you over with secret persuasions. He wishes that you’d receive these desires in secret for they thrive in the dark. But once exposed to the light by confessing them to a trusted friend, the seductive power is lost. Beware of whispers that counsel you to withhold information or temptations you face.
Rule 14: Encamped Around Your Soul
The enemy of our soul besieges us by encamping around our soul seeking out the weak points in our defenses and attacking there. Become aware of your weak points in your life through examine and strengthen those areas before the attack begins. Where are the longstanding weak points in your defenses that need attention?
Reflection:
Consider reflecting on these rules regularly. As you read through the list, was there a rule that reflects the current season of life you are in? And in light of where you see yourself, what do you sense is God’s invitation to you today?
These are important questions that are worth spending some time in quiet reflection reviewing. As we grow in awareness, we learn to respond to the voice of the Holy Spirit in our lives and continue to make steady progress in our faith journey.
For a printable version of the rules, click here.
