Shift the Atmosphere
Have you ever experienced a spirit of heaviness come over you during the day? An unexplainable anxiety, sadness, fear, or even anger? If so, how long does that feeling trap you there? The entire day? A week? Months? What kinds of thoughts are formed in that place? Nothing good, I’m sure. Let me guess, all of a sudden the offense you thought you were over comes back twice as strong? Healed wounds seem to be reopened? Doubts and insecurities concerning your future seem more and more likely?
What if I told you that one of the enemy’s greatest tactics is to create this sort of atmosphere just so you’ll be more willing to receive his lies? In an environment where you’re overwhelmed with these emotions, lies that couldn’t work on you when you were at your best, now have the opportunity to be made manifest.
It’s so important that you don’t come into agreement with the thoughts that are presented to you (yes, presented, because you have the option to say “no”) when you’re in this state. The Bible frequently reminds us that the things we wrestle with in our lives aren’t natural but spiritual fights. See 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, NKJV:
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 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…”
You have the power and the authority to shift the atmosphere in and around you when the spirit of heaviness comes. First, by acknowledging it for what it is, and second, by responding from a place of strength. You have to do this even when you don’t feel like it because the enemy is counting on you to be so overwhelmed by emotion that you don’t even try. This is where the authority and power that God has given you comes in. You have to open your mouth and declare the opposite of the emotion that is creeping up on you. It may feel silly, but the devil flees when you stand firm on the word of God. If you would just say the few words you can, in faith, the Holy Spirit will do the rest. Declare that the devil will not have your mind or your day, declare that the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10), that you will have an abundant life (John 10:10), and any other truth that speaks to the opposite of what you’re feeling. Even if all you have is a whisper, then whisper.
It is so critical that you learn how to do this not even just for yourself, but for the benefit of your current or future family, your relationships, and anyone else who is called to be connected to your life. You don’t have to wait until church on Sunday, or to talk to that friend or family member that you know is a prayer warrior. You have the power to shift your atmosphere. Death is in the power of your tongue - so is life.
I challenge you to try this and see if things don’t slowly, but surely turn around. You have the authority over your day - no one else, not even the devil himself. You have the power to determine whether that heaviness overtakes you. You have the power to determine whether you spend the day believing the worst or declaring the best.
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that [you] may have life, and that [you] may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10, NKJV.