Whatever is the Opposite

I felt that tinge of a sore throat coming on. “Noooooooo!!!”

I prayed and prayed. I completely believe God offers us health. I asked Him to search my heart and show me sin. I repented of things He brought to mind. Jeff laid hands on me and prayed. I attended my monthly accountability group with close girlfriends and they laid hands on me and prayed.

In the morning it was worse.

Shoot! This isn’t supposed to happen!

That morning, I prayed about whether to go to my exercise class or not. Of course I had a perfect excuse to stay home in bed — I felt terrible! But as I asked God for His perspective on this sickness situation, and a Scripture passage clearly came to mind:

When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, we read of 3 specific spiritual attacks the enemy waged against Him.  All three were completely shut down by Jesus, then it says, “Satan left him for a more opportune time.”

Basically, it wasn’t worth the enemy’s time anymore! Satan left because the attack didn’t WORK. Jesus didn’t do whatever it was that Satan wanted Him to do.

Jesus did exactly the opposite. Whatever it was that the enemy wanted, Jesus launched a counterattack of faith, truth, and unwavering trust in His Father.

The sentence rang in my heart: Do whatever is the opposite.

Of course! I had just heard two fascinating stories of faithful believers doing just that. In one story, a godly man who oversees a discipleship rehab facility was buying firewood to heat the building. The guy selling the wood was dishonest, so the godly man was left paying more than agreed, with wood that wasn’t as advertised.

He was mad, but he was also wise.

He knew the real purpose behind this deal was that the enemy would want him to be angry and retaliate, or just sulk, focusing on the “lost” money of the deal.

So he did exactly the opposite. He took the wood and went and freely distributed it to people in even greater need than himself. He took the curse and turned it into blessing. He broke the back of anger with love. He fought evil instead of fighting that man.

He overcame evil with good.

Just last week another such story took place. This time we were the blessed recipients. Another church in town is pursuing the purchase of a building, but just when the offer was supposed to close, the seller backed out. The pastor was frustrated and irritated, as they’d worked so hard to raise the money for this purchase.

He was mad, but he was also wise.

He knew the enemy wanted them to get angry, frustrated, and focused on their money, their own purposes, their own plans.

So he did the opposite instead. He prayed and GAVE a generous a portion of the money they’d saved, and away to two other local churches instead and to our family personally. We were the completely undeserving (but super grateful!) recipients, and we were SO inspired by their story!

So when I thought of my situation, battling sickness, the details are different but the principle’s the same. What is the enemy trying to accomplish by getting me down in sickness?

To cancel kingdom-furthering plans and meetings, to keep me from reading the Word, to rob my joy, to make me grumpy and irritable, eat junk food (I always crave sugar when I’m sick), to keep me from doing meaningful work, to get my focus on me me me me me.

So my action plan was clear: Do whatever is the opposite!

I went to Jazz, fighting. Loved my family, fighting. Ate healthy. Snuggled up in bed with my Bible and read and prayed all morning long. Went for a walk in the fresh air to spend time with our housemate and bless my kids. Made the kids their favorite dinner. Read a fabulous faith-building book on God’s transforming power. Prayed for others who are battling sickness. Kept the plan to lead Bible Study that night. Wrote this post (!). And yes, took a nap while the kids played Legos. 🙂

It made me feel so energized, even though my body felt terrible, my spirit felt alive: I had purpose! And to my amazement, the kids were angels. They even did all their schoolwork by themselves! Say what?! I thanked God over and over for His grace on us covering me even through feeling sick, and allowing me to see this super natural battling plan for fighting attack of all kind. In fact, the very next day I had an *opportunity* (smile) to engage in another battle, an emotional and relational one, that was ten times harder than kicking a cold. But whatever the attack may be, here is our counterattack:

 Whatever the enemy would want you to do:

Do whatever is the opposite.

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

{Happy weekend! Thanks for reading.}