It’s real. I always knew it was; I’d heard about it, seen it in movies, read about it in books, but truth be told, it’s a little different to see a demon manifest in person than to hear about it in retrospect.
Before I tell you about it though, I want to dispel a few rumors.
It’s really not that scary
It’s overhyped in America
Here’s the story.
There’s an atmosphere to Swaziland, it’s a place with history drenched in witchcraft, sacrifices, and satanic ritual so it makes sense that some people who are more sensitive to the spiritual realms would notice as soon as they get here.
Our hosts told us stories about the girls with whom we’re working, about manifestations of the demons in them and tales of people rolling around on the floor and hurting themselves because they are no longer in control. Then our hosts (all American, by the way), would go right back to what they’d been doing as if it was no big deal.
I’m not there yet, after seeing some of the stuff they’re talking about, I know it’s not something to freak out over, but it’s also not something I’m used to yet.
This past Sunday, the plan was for our team to go to church with the girls we’re working with and then come home, then for dinner we’d go to a nice restaurant for GNO (Girl’s Night Out).
Spoiler alert: GNO got postponed.
We got there early, well, on time, but everyone else was running on African time. We listened to the sermon as much as we could, our eyes and bodies tired from a hard week of ministry, some of us having even spent the night at the girls’ home for a sleepover. We made it through Sunday school and we were heading back to the service when we got called into a separate classroom.
One of the girls was on the floor with more of the girls and a few other people around her, holding her down. Apparently she’d been manifesting. Throughout the course of the next few hours we saw her squirm against the people restraining her, thrash around, make a break for the door, and we heard the thing inside her speak with her voice, telling us that the girl who’s body it possessed was not there.
We prayed and sang songs, generally worshiping, stepping in to hold her when it was necessary. There was a good amount of time spent in the room with her, but I also stepped out near the end to be with some of the other girls who weren’t as comfortable being in there.
After that, there was clearly a lot for us to discuss as a team and our host was great about taking the time to answer all of our questions. Learning about how Satan operates and what goes on in his realm as he sends his people to work was interesting to be honest. It was awful, but as it is something that I’ve never heard of in such detail before, I was curious. But I learned it’s important to know that Satan loves distractions and so if someone is manifesting it can mean that the real problem is somewhere else close by or that the person is manifesting because they’re nearly ready to confess Christ and this is a last ditch effort to keep them captive or its both. In this case, it was probably both.
Our host believes that one of the girls I went to spend some time with outside of the room was the real one that Satan was playing with during that time.
Still the most vital thing I took away was that during all of that, you’ve got to keep your eyes on the Lord. Satan does not need your attention; give it to God, rely on him, and allow him to fill you up even when you don’t understand what’s going on around you.
A different conversation I had with one of the girls outside the room revealed that she was so used to displays like the one going on in the other room that she was shocked to hear this was my first encounter like this.
But even though that’s true, it doesn’t necessarily mean that this is my first encounter with a demon. Just because they don’t act like that most of the time in the U.S. doesn’t mean that they aren’t there. It just means they operate differently because with so much medicine and science at our fingertips, it makes it that much easier to rely on man instead of God. And that makes it so much easier for the Enemy to slip in attacks that are just as powerful, we just aren’t looking for them, so we don’t see them.
Most people in mental institutions are probably afflicted in such ways or people who suffer from Multiple Personality Disorder. Demons love to play and if they’re inside someone, they can talk in that person’s voice, walk around and do the things they normally do and that person can wake up later and not have a clue what happened. So you might have no idea what’s going on until they manifest. Or the Lord reveals it to you.
Let me take a moment to clarify; I’m not claiming to be an expert, nor am I saying with definitively that every patient in a mental hospital or with MPD or anyone on the streets is afflicted with possession or oppression. But demons attack hardest when we’re at our lowest and they make promises that sound good and a lot of people say yes to them and have no idea what they’re doing.
What I will say definitively is that the only way to make sure you are not among there numbers is to be born again in the baptism of the Holy Spirit. That way you know he is indwelling you and if you have him, there is no room for anything else inside of you.
Just writing this it sounds a lot like a fire and brimstone sermon. That’s not my intention, I only want to relate parts of an experience I had, but yes, there is a warning here and it must be taken seriously. There’s a lot I didn’t know here so I can only assume most people back home don’t know a lot of this either.
Maybe ignorance is bliss, but for me, I’d rather know as much as I can and make an informed decision from there, especially when it’s my soul and eternity hanging in the balance. So I’ll just leave that there and pray it spurs you into some kind of motion, even if it’s just thinking more carefully about the decision in front of you.Because now you know. And once you know, you can’t claim ignorance.
They say it’s a very real battle, the one in the spiritual realms going on around us. I’ve only seen a little, I’ve really only related a little of it here, but I can tell you that yes, it is very real and I’ve seen it.
More later,
TL
