Why Do I Keep Seeing Weird Small Shadows?
- Thread starter Polly
- Start date
The Shadow Knows!! ( old radio show I heard on XM radio)
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ISSUE 1:
You and I are very similar. I myself have recently had sleeping difficulties - for weeks on end I think I was just getting five hours of sleep many nights (it sure felt like it!). And I would wake up at 12 or 3 or 4 am. Now I drink a tea with valerian before bed - it helps. But waking up in the night is part of my history. Also part of my history is worry and anxiety - my old woman (before I became a new creation in Christ) was an intense worrier - one that would worry so much she couldn't function.
Sleep deprivation is not a pleasant experience - and I can agree that the shades of dark in the middle of the night can be scary - especially the black ones that you see in a distant room down the hall. They can even appear to move. I have been experiencing this from childhood. Back then I would have dreams about it. And, if I opened my eyes at night without turning on the light, there would be these formless specters of extra-dark darkness that would seem to be moving closer to my bed. It was scary.
But here is the thing....those shadows are nothing. If you grit your teeth, don't turn on the light and walk right through them (which I finally did a few years back) you learn that those shadows do not touch you...they are not even alive. They look dreadful but hold no real power.
Here was my problem: I was focusing on the darkness. As I focused on the darkness and give it my concern, I gave it life in my head. I created the object of my fear in my mind - and it got stronger the more I thought about and the more belief I gave it. In reality, the darkness wasn't even alive - it had no power at all.
And if if these shadows are demonic (which I doubt) having your home blessed by a priest is of no effect. Christ nor the powers of darkness are impressed by the traditions and words of men. Even if you repeat a verse over and over again out loud it will do nothing. Physical cures and actions will have no affect in a spiritual battle!
For you see, the Power and the Victory (and the place of no fear!) are Christ Himself! And that Power and Victory, through the Spirit, resides in you already. It is a sealed deal. The powers of darkness can not harm you because of Christ, Victory, Who is in you! David, for instance, was secure and victorious not because he prayed right, did the right rituals or said the right words. Rather it was because the LORD was his Fortress! "I love you, Lord; you are my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. 3 I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies." Psalm 18:1-3. It all - ALL - goes back to the Lord.
All things conquering and eternal are in the Lord.So rest in the God who is our Fortress and Rock....and there, in Him, you found relief for your fears of the dark and your anxieties.
It isn't your house or you that is the fortress - but rather your God.__________________________________________________
ISSUE 2:
"I really believe in Jesus Christ, and I try to stop sinning, but I just can't stop sinning because it's impossible. Mistakes always happen."
Seems I've been in that place to! I was a perfectionist. For instance, one of my sins was explosions of temper. After the Lord revitalized me a few years back I decided that I wouldn't lose my temper anymore - I promised. Of course that didn't work out...I broke that promise on many occasions. And each time I beat myself up and tried again.
Here though, is Truth that I hope will set you at ease:
1. A saved man is a NEW creation. That old sinner's nature is DEAD - GONE! This new creation has a new nature - His nature! For the new creation is born of God, not man. "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God." John 1:12-13. It is no longer you who lives, but Christ. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20. Your old man - the one that could only sin - is dead. You are a new creation with a new nature.
2. This new life is not lived in your strength with you trying. Doesn't work, as you have found. Rather it is lived with us weak and Him being the Strength and Ability. "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 Corinthians 12:9. That way God, our Strength, gets the glory. Those moments when are you are feeling your own helplessness are the triggers in which you say "yes" to God - not say "no" to the temptation and then try to resist it in yourself by yourself. Through Christ, not yourself. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5.
3. God is our Great Refiner - He is purifying us to be like pure gold (Malachi 3:3)! He brings the dross (old sin habits of the old man) up to the surface so it can be removed. Mistakes are not symptoms of failures. Mistakes are steps in this journey of becoming a mature/perfect reflection of Him!
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