Spiritual forces… what are they? Do they exist? Some critics say there aren’t any spiritual forces and that things just happen with no outside influence. Others strongly disagree based on their personal experience or belief system.
There have been many reported accounts where people have experienced firsthand how real the spiritual world is. I happen to be one of those individuals.
I recall at the age of 16 when I attended a prayer group that was led by a woman named Linda. Linda was a woman of faith and her goal in life was to share her faith in the Gospels.
Linda was a petite woman who was bold as a lion and her teachings were on point. One night she taught the group about keeping our spiritual guard up. She said we needed to watch out for people who were wolves in sheep’s clothing. She outlined scriptures on how the evil ones are always looking for ways to take someone out by any means.
She also said that the evil ones will always look for someone to do their dirty work. Their goal is to influence any soul that is willing to listen and carry out their plan. If you think about it; what would drive someone to take an innocent life or steal? Wouldn’t those actions be considered evil? Absolutely!
After her teaching, I spoke with her and asked if these spiritual influencers could be easily recognized. What she said next has stuck with me until this day. She said “oh Mija, the devil will never come to you in his true form, he will always come to you in a beautiful way and in a form that you desire. This is why you have to keep your guard up. You have to discipline yourself to hear God’s voice so He can reveal to you if its a wolf or His blessing. Just because it looks good doesn’t mean it’s always good”.
As the years passed, I have seen numerous miracles in my own family that has convinced me that we truly do have an awesome God. On the other hand, I’ve witnessed some really crazy evil manifestations proving the reality of an evil existence. In fact, I experienced one of these manifestations, and let me tell you it’s nothing to play with. This particular event happens to a friend by the name of Darin. One night around eleven pm Darin called, which was really odd since he had never called that late before.
He was confused and begged me to go over to his house because something was not right with his girlfriend Sandra. When I arrived, I felt something creepy as I approached his door; it was a bad feeling. I knew I was about to walk into something spiritual and not in a good way. Darin opened the door and he had a look of concern, confusion, and fear.
As I walked in, I saw Sandra and she was positioned on all fours like an animal. She was breathing hard and just staring at us, but she didn’t seem like herself. Darin looked at me speechless and I said “she is possessed”. Darin gave me a look as though I had lost my mind and he immediately went to his girlfriend in an attempt to snap her out of it.
What happened next floored both of us. His small 120-pound girlfriend overpowered Darin which stunned both of us, especially since he weighed around 210 pounds and he was all muscle. As the evening went on, this “spirit” would do things like turn her eyes completely black. She would beg for help and at one point she convinced Darin to kiss her and when he did, he began to bleed. This thing would laugh and say “I did that” in a crazy voice like the one in The Exorcist movie.
I called some of my friends and placed them on speaker while they prayed. This spirit inside Sandra would look at the phone and tell my friends about their past! Here’s what’s crazy; Sandra had never met those friends but yet she (it) was telling them these things. When I asked my friends if what this thing was saying was true, they said yes! Needless to say, it was one long crazy, and freaky night.
It was literally 3 am before it seems like Sandra was herself again. All she could say was she was tired. A few days past and Darin brought her to my house and wanted me to tell her what had happened. Darin said he tried to tell her but she didn’t believe him. She said she didn’t recall anything, which was interesting. I began to tell her the things that were said and how these spirits described why they were there.
It called itself Trinity because there were three. She apparently went through some traumatic things when she was younger because her mother kept her in a place where she was not safe. The people in that environment were drunks, addicts, and perverted which basically invited these spirits in. When I told her specifics things the spirits had said, she broke down. She said she had never told a soul about those things and she wanted to know how to get rid of them.
Sandra admitted there were times through the years that she would black out and she said that night was one of those nights. I told her “girl, that was no blackout because it was all full of action that night!” I felt bad for her since I had no idea how to help her. I suggested that she talk to her pastor to give her guidance on how to get rid of those spirits.
That encounter showed me that there may be situations where unwanted spirits make their way in and sometimes you may not even realize it. All this time she thought she suffered from blackouts and in reality, these Trinity spirits were hanging out deep within her soul. She wasn’t an evil person; she was a really nice gal who happens to have a deep secret and she felt it was best to keep that secret under wraps. Unfortunately, she had no idea this was happening to her.
So how do Legions come into this? Let’s turn our eyes to a scripture that will unveil some truth regarding this spiritual world. Mark 5: 1-11 (paraphrasing) There was a man who lived in the tombs of a nearby town. The people of this town recognized this man as having evil spirits in him. He was described as uncontrollable and has incredible strength.
At night, he would be heard crying out as he would cut his tormented self. One day Jesus arrives and as he steps out of his boat, this guy comes flying out of the tomb and bows down before Jesus. This man shouts and says “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8:Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!” 9:Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10:And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. 11:A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12:The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13:He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
I bolded some keywords in those scriptures that are significant in terms of the vast number of spirits and how they were addressed. First, they recognized authority and knew they couldn’t win when this authority was on the scene. Second, they were afraid of this authority and had no choice but to obey whatever this authority directed them to do. Third, it showed there can be a whole lot of these spirits living in one person based on how many came out and went into the herd i.e 2000 pigs.
So what’s considered an evil spirit? That easy, what’s against morals, and what action do people act on that keeps them disconnected from the Creator? Maybe actions like i.e. addictions, pride, manipulation, etc? Do you really think those have no linkage to the spirit world?
Just because you aren’t throwing up pea soup and not spinning your head doesn’t mean you aren’t being influenced by the spirit realm (those of you who have seen The Exorcist know what I’m talking about). Evil spirits always want to influence you for one goal only; to draw you away from the truth of God’s word. Like Linda mentioned, “they will never come to you in their true form”.
The devil and his demons don’t MAKE you do anything, BUT they can INFLUENCE you and you can CHOOSE to follow their lead. So my question to you is… DO YOU HAVE LEGIONS? What could some legions name be? What about greed, foul mouth, lust, fornication, self-absorbed, pride, judging, stealing, false accusing, addictions, cheating, love of money, gossip, murder, and not only in the physical, what about murdering someone character?
What about being a glutton? This doesn’t only apply to food, it applies to anything in excess. What can’t you do without? Have you ever asked yourself why? You may have an influencer that you keep giving access to in your life. What about sexual immorality; do you really think its the right thing bouncing from one person to another?
What about lies? The bible describes the Devil as the father of lies (John 8:44), so who is the influencer there? What if you carry all these things and act on them in one day? What are you allowing to influence you daily? So I ask again, do you have Legions? It’s time to do some serious soul searching to figure that out. Recognize those areas in your life that you know need changing.
I challenge you to not only recognize but act on changing those areas. Claim that authority and quit agreeing with the “evil” influencers . Recognize them; resist them and by doing so, your life will change in a prosperous direction. Looking in the mirror is not a bad thing. You will never change anything you aren’t willing to acknowledge. Something to think about as we go about our day.