The Heat is On

Right now where we live in South Africa, we are experiencing the hottest temperatures I can ever remember and it has been going on for weeks and weeks on end. We are in early autumn (or fall for some people), and the temperatures usually drop right away. But it seems like this is going on and on and we are wondering when we can get some relief from the intense heat.

In the afternoon, when the high temperature is reached, the air is very hot and most of the time very dry. To me it feels as though I am standing right in front of a logfire or a gas heater on a warm day.

Spiritual Heat

I am sure you get the point and can see the picture that I have been describing in the natural. But I want to talk now about spiritual heat, because the same sort of thing can happen in your spiritual life.

You may be experiencing a hot, dry season from the enemy. When something like this happens you begin to feel pressure in your spiritual life. Things don’t flow the way that they should flow or were flowing.

Perhaps things were going great in your ministry. But now suddenly you seem to be coming to a grinding halt. It seems that whatever your hand touches does the opposite of prospering.

Prospering in whatever you do is what the Lord desires for you. But now everything seems to stop working or you don’t seem to be getting anywhere. You look around and wonder what you can do to make things change and to get some relief.

Locked in and Blocked

In the natural, from what I understand about a heatwave, there is something that happens that locks the heat in so that it can’t escape until whatever is causing it is removed. The Lord showed me that in the same way, when you face this sort of situation, part of the reason is that Satan is trying to stop the blessing from working in your life. He is trying to lock you in and make you uncomfortable.

But what can you do to make that spiritual heatwave be removed? You need to recognize that this is coming from Satan. Recognize his plan and his mode of operation and do not be phased by it.

Because you see when you start to react and get stressed, he realizes that he is getting to you. He will then try and keep that spiritual heat going for an extended period of time.

Satan will very often try and pull this stunt in your spiritual life when a few things happen. The one scenario is when the Lord has given you something new to do. The other one is if you have got excited about some new direction and things seem to be flourishing.

Know that Satan will immediately try and snuff that excitement out. He will be like the rhino that supposedly stamps out a campfire the minute it sees one.

But when you know how Satan works you can stand against him. When you know that he is a liar and a sore loser who doesn’t want you to win, then you can address him and say,

“I see you, Satan. And I see what you are trying to do. But you are the loser and you will not have your way in my life. I am the head and not the tail; above only and not beneath. I command you now to remove that blockage that you have put into my life right now.

And now angels of God and Holy Spirit I ask you to intervene in my life and help me to bounce back to victory once again. Thank you for doing this, Lord.”

Things Will Change

One thing should give you some hope if you are facing this sort of thing in your life today. In the natural the heat will not last forever. Things will change and you will get some cool, refreshing weather.

In the same way, Satan does not have the resources to keep your spiritual life under pressure. He will have to remove his grip and acknowledge that the Lord has given you the victory. Then you will rise up once again and walk in the blessing that the Lord has for you.