When You Feel Like You're Getting Clobbered

When I was in college, it seemed like there would always be a week or two every semester when I was overwhelmed. All my major assignments would come due at the same time. I thought, “If I didn’t know better, I’d say my professors are sitting in the faculty lounge, saying something like, 'Oh you've got so-and-so in your class too? Let's all bomb it on him at the same time,' " followed by a volley of maniacal laughter that could be heard down the hall. Well, that feeling didn’t end after I graduated from college. I’ve felt bombarded many times since. We all have, and we’ve watched others walk through similar experiences—not being able to recover from one frightful scenario before another breaks out, then another on top of it all. 

In a previous article, I mentioned that the contour of life is not even; in short, we do not see an equal amount of opportunities presented to us each day. Rather, from time to time we all have a window of opportunity laid out before us, in which we either move significantly forward or fall back, called a Kairos in the Bible. When the Kairos is over, the opportunity vanishes, so it is important to recognize these key moments and respond correctly to them.

After studying this subject further, I learned that Kairos situations are not only sent by God, but they can be hurled at us by the devil, as well. He looks for time windows in our lives that are strategic for attack. He seeks to use timing to his advantage. Just as physical location is key to securing victory in military warfare (Guadalcanal, Normandy Beach, etc.), timing is key in spiritual warfare. 

Here is what I found in my survey of the Bible on this subject: 

First, Jesus Himself was targeted. When the wilderness temptation was over, Satan departed from Jesus “until an opportune time” (Greek: “until a Kairos,” Luke 4:13). Further, the story of John the Baptist’s death is preceded by the phrase, “Now a strategic day [“Kairos”] came . . . ” (Mark 6:21). Not only does the enemy have us targeted, he has specific times marked to attack us. Paul refers to such a time as “the evil day.” (Ephesians 6:13)

So, how do we handle these satanically-orchestrated crises? I offer four strategies:

Strategy #1: Be Prepared

This first strategy applies before the evil day. We can be prepared for it by being alert. (1 Corinthians 16:13, 1 Peter 5:8). Sometimes we mistakenly assume that God owes us a beautiful life with no more trials. We think that, if we will be patient, we will eventually experience the beautiful life we have coming to us. While it is true that God can and does deliver us from some of our trials, and that we experience beautiful seasons in our lives, there is no guarantee that this will our normative lot in life. We will never be completely free from trials in this life. In fact, Jesus promises victory through  tribulation, not from tribulation. (John 16:33) So, if we are going to survive an "evil day" experience, we must dispense once for all with our expectation of a beautiful life. If we do, we won’t be shocked when a satanic Kairos breaks onto our front screen. (see 1 Peter 4:12) 

Strategy #2: Draw Near to God

A second source of help inovolves the very presence of God. As a child, I can remember one night when a thunderstorm interrupted my sleep. I cried out, and my father came into my room and lay down beside me in the bed and fell back asleep there. Hearing his familiar snore was all I needed to drift off to sleep, even as the storm continued. It is possible for God to draw so near to us that the reality of His presence can eclipse our awareness of a present storm. Note the nearness of God in Psalm 23. Even in the valley of the shadow of death, even in the presence of enemies, God is present and very real. So cry out to Him. Ask Him to draw near to you when you need Him the most, and you will find yourself agreeing with the psalmist: “The nearness of God is my good.” (Psalm 73:28)

Strategy #3: Keep the Short-term Goal in Mind

Ephesians 6:13 tells us what the goal is during the evil day: “to stand.” Jesus was still standing after His wilderness temptation. He could have caved, but He didn't; He stood. Similarly, Job was still standing when his evil day was done. Know that, while there are seasons of advancement, an “evil day” experience is not such a time. The objective is simply to stand firm. All but one of the weapons mentioned in Ephesians 6 is defensive. The one apparently offensive weapon is the sword, the Word of God. (Ephesians 6:17) But it is significant that, when Jesus used the Word of God in the wilderness temptation, He used it defensively. (Matthew 4:7, 10) The goal in these situations is not to advance. There is a time for that, but the strategy at this specific time is to hold our position, to not default on our faith. You will have a much better chance of success if you know what your present goal is.

Make no mistake about it—when you're getting knocked silly, the ultimate battle is not about finances or health or relationships; you are locked in a battle in which the enemy wants to take one thing from you, and that is your faith. When (not if) you walk out of the trial you're in, if you still have your faith intact, you have won!

Strategy #4: Keep the Big Picture in Mind

One of the most successful tactics of the enemy during an “evil day” is to convince us that our current situation is permanent. Nothing could be further from the truth. Even when Paul was facing death, he knew that death was not the end. Instead, he focused on the crown that awaited him. (2 Timothy 4:7–8) Let that sink in. He knows he's about to die, yet he chooses to focus on the crown. This is big picture thinking. Keep in mind: Every trial has a beginning and every trial has an end.

But the big picture news gets better: The devil has a Kairos reserved for him. While a Kairos can often be a small window of time, it can also involve a season of life, or even an epoch, an era. Jesus currently sits on a throne of mercy, but one day He will be sitting on a throne of judgment, meaning we will eventually enter a new age, a new Kairos. And the primary subject of judgment in this new Kairos will be the devil himself. (John 16:8–11, Revelation 20:10) He knows that his day is coming, and that he only has “a short time” left (Revelation 12:12, Greek: “a short Kairos!”). His demons are aware of this inevitability, as well. Strikingly, when Jesus confronts the Gadarene demoniac, the demons inside of the man cry out to Jesus, saying literally, “Have You come to torment us before the Kairos?” (Matthew 8:29) Be encouraged! You may have a target on your back for a short time, but so does our mortal enemy, and his Kairos of judgment will never end!

In Short

So, we all get targeted at times. We can either be prepared for this eventuality or not. So when (again, not if) you find yourself targeted . . . (1) Don’t be surprised; be alert. (2) Cry out to God; call on Him to draw near to you. (3) Determine to stand. (4) And in the middle of it all, rejoice, knowing that, while our Kairos-crisis is temporary, our enemy’s will last forever.