We all have them… Those “haunts” that keep us up at night or make our heart pound or make us cringe in guilt after a wrong decision.
And man they get on my nerves.
I want to start getting on their nerves. Yeah. Yeah. I want to fight them in my own life… But, I can’t if I don’t know what they are. Right?
I think that’s the first step in fighting our demons: Find out what they are. Identify them. What’s that proverb (not Biblical, just proverbial)? Know thy enemy; thy enemy is self.
Or something like that. Maybe Sun Tzu and Pogo fell in love and got married and had some sort of quote-baby in my brain. But, you get what I’m saying…
If we don’t know our enemy (which may be within) then we won’t be able to smack it in the face with a wet glove and spit and walk away.
So, I’m out to discover mine. Call them out from hiding. It’s time for them to show their faces (I’m speaking rather figuratively here, y’all. Nobody panic.) I’m on the hunt for those things that just fray me. That wear me down. That tempt me and try me and test me and make me feel weak and weary.
Things like:
- Conflict: I absolutely fear it. I’m a bit too non-confrontational.
- Doubt: I sometimes wonder if maybe there’s a slight chance that somewhere out there “on the other side” of this world there really just might be nothing…? (cringe for honesty.)
- Anger: I think I’m entitled. Namely, to be able to start a family with ease. By not getting my way, I’ve become a sort of a spiritual brat. Not so good.
That’s a start. And there are more. And some of them may be easier to beat than others. And, you know, some of them just might be around for life. But if I know these “demons” and can see them for what they are, I’ve already begun to strip their power.
So, take that, demons. I acknowledge that you annoy me. And I’m not interested in cooperating.
What are some of your demons? Can you identify one or two? Even in that, you’re stripping their power!
I totally changed my mind on the interaction in this post. You know what I really want to see happen in the comments? Y’all share how you’ve fought particular demons in your own life. There are others who face the same, and could really benefit from your stories.
Feel free to be anonymous, just be sure to change your email: anon@anonymous.com works well.
Thanks y’all!
I am fighting many enemies right now two being upcoming Ap test (noooooo) My enemy is not figurative. I truly wish I could give those Ap people a piece of my mind….
I feel like the best way to truly fight our enemies is by surrendering….plain surrender. Telling God that he is bigger and can handle all of this but as for me I am going to let go of the situation and let God work. This may seem like the easy way out but surrender is a really really hard thing to grasp!
“I truly wish I could give those AP people a piece of my mind” haha! Yes ma’am…. I remember, and I understand.
Surrendering? That’s an interesting perspective, Kamrie… And, yes, surrender is very hard. Ok. Lemme think about this… Here’s an example: what would you say to the anorexic who wants to overcome those tendencies? What would surrender look like for her?
Surrender would look like letting go of all those thoughts that say she is ugly or fat or will never look as good as all those models who are just plain skinny. (not really)
It is learning to have confidence in who God wants her to be and how he made her!
I have a number of friends who have survived eating disorders. And I agree with your direction for surrender. Eating disorders are often connected to false self-view & distortions. But, now that I stop long enough to remember what I know about this thing, sometimes the disorder just about control. It’s a means of finding control over an area of life when all else feels out of control… In that case, surrender is the most difficult option, because it’s a relinquishing of the one thing she’s trying to establish: control. In those instances, surrender would be incredibly difficult… Oh man I can’t even imagine.
wow that is some deep stuff. I never thought about that perspective. I guess if you take on that whole control aspect that could be the same with all of our enemies/ demons.
We all want control over an outcome that makes us go crazy because of the unexpected mystery or something that brings pain. We go so far as to harm ourselves just to get that feeling of stability or some control. When in reality surrender scares the crap out of us. Who wants to go through that pain where you feel helpless unable to control anything.
Over the last year or more I’ve fought rage. Like my whole body shaking sort of rage. I know it’s purely hormonal changes. But it seems to me that I should be able to choose to not be rage-tastic.
Good for you. I can’t imagine the difficulty of fighting your own body’s brain-chemical response to something. Actually I can, and it’s quite difficult to keep your mind and reactions *above* what you’re thinking & feeling.
Any concrete tips on how you accomplished this?
I wish I knew. I do my best to not scream and try not to throw things. Usually this includes me with my hands in a fist trying to “channel” the rage into something other than screaming.
I always feel so guilty afterwards, and mumbling I don’t know why I’m like this. I don’t know why I do this.
You know, it may mean a lot of work and soul-searching and struggle, but much could be done for just finding out where this rage is coming from. Seriously. Could be a powerful powerful way to disarm this reaction in you. I hope you do come to a place of understanding, and that the fight against rage will eventually fade. I know it’s possible. Trust me. We can be something other than what we are, especially when it comes to things like this (that, at the time, feel so utterly beyond our control).
A couple of weeks ago, when severe thunder storms were going through my town w/possibility of tornadoes, I started reciting the names of God. All the names I could think of. It distracted me from the weather, it calmed my soul from fear (the enemy), AND the Lord answered my prayer for protection. The names of God are powerful against the enemy.
Wow. That is powerful! And there was such devastation from all those storms. It’s unbelievable. Thanks for sharing, Marie.
And thanks for stopping by!
I’m reading a wonderful book called Wishful Thinking by Frederick Buechner and this is what he says about doubt,
“Whether your faith is that there is a God or that there is not a God, if you don’t have any doubts, you are either kidding yourself or asleep. Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving.”
Amazing…. Now I don’t feel so crazy. If you come across any other kindred thoughts, please send them my way. Thanks, Hannah!! And thank you Mr. Buechner!
He also says, “Faith is better understood as a verb than as a noun, as a process than as a possession. It is on-again-off-again rather than once-and-for-all. Faith is not being sure where you’re going, but going anyway. A journey without maps…doubt isn’t the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.”
I like this guy.
Oh dang. That thing about faith is great. Now to read your next comment…
Sometimes its something as simple as putting a name to it. For a while now i’ve been struggling and just at a complete loss because i knew something was wrong yet i had no clue as to what it was. It was only after finding out that i suffer from anxiety that i have been able to fight it. My options for medications were explained to be purely temporary, to act as a filler for my brain until it began to once again work properly. Personally i’m not big into medications so i tend to look for non-medicinal options. Its not super crippling case, but enough to hinder me in certain areas. Having a name has been incredibly helpful, because now i can address it for what it is, and a lot of feelings of inadequacies have calmed. I can now address it when i feel the thought patterns coming. I am learning to take a step back, and reevaluate the issue’s or ‘triggers’. i am attempting to reteach my brain to self-soothe, to reconnect the pathways that have somehow gotten disconnected. So far this has been working, as well as a lot of prayer. I have found that I have always been very self aware of how i am feeling or of what things are going on inside my head, so it was hard for me to be dealing with something that i couldn’t name, that i couldn’t properly combat. Sometimes just looking in the mirror and saying I have ….. helps you fight back. I have anxiety, but my anxiety does not rule me. I rule my anxiety and one day it will be gone.
I’m sorry to read this, just because I understand. Anxiety can be haunting. I totally understand “not super crippling case, but enough to hinder me in certain areas.” And am so glad that they’re getting you back in balance, and talking thought management and things like that. thanks for sharing, Meghan…
I wasn’t too happy when, about five months after we moved back, a therapist used the word “depression” with me. Didn’t like that word at all. Especially when I’d been drowning under the “infertility” label for a few years. Back to the therapist, she says we have to set new tracks for our thoughts to run on. She also says that, in the case of momentary depression, I can just watch tv to make it go away (but her recommendation is to read–the bible or something like that). Either way, it’s good to know that getting out of my head can be helpful.
Non-Medical: have they talked to you about Vitamins D & B?
thank you. your post was inspiring and i love your personality.