YOUR GUARDIAN DEMON

“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn’t exist.”-----closing line of the  1995 movie “The Usual Suspects”

In Matthew 18: 10, Jesus said,  “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.”

This is the central verse from which we get the idea of guardian angels being assigned to individual children and/or believers.

The idea of guardian angels is comforting.  It’s nice to think that God has dispatched His heavenly host to encamp around us and protect us from evil and evil spirits.  It’s emboldening to know that .…those who are with us are more than those who are with them (2 Kings 6: 15-18).

2 Kings 6: 15     And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”

16     So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17     And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

That’s nice, but what about the other side?  What about the enemy’s response?

When one nation developed military aircraft, another nation developed anti-aircraft artillery.   When google creates a new firewall, hackers create new programs.  A human nation spies on its enemies, and its enemy nations spy right back.  It’s called counter-espionage.    So, if human enemies observe and respond to each other, isn’t it reasonable to think that satan would respond to God assigning detachments of angels to run security detail on the saints?    

I’m saying that since there are guardian angels, there are also guardian demons.

God sent an angel to the prophet Daniel.  The angel was carrying the answer to a prayer Daniel had been praying for 3 straight weeks.   When the messenger angel arrived, he told Daniel that he’d actually started out with the answer on the first day, but the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. (Daniel 10: 13)

Michael is Daniel’s prince, i.e., the guardian angel of Israel (Daniel 10: 21).

The guardian demon(s) of Persia tried to stop God’s message from getting through.

The story of Job makes it clear that the devil does reconnaissance (Job 1: 7).  He notices when God’s servants are doing well, and he actively looks for ways to get past our defenses so he can destroy our walk with God.

Job 1: 9     So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10     Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

Consider that as a committed, anointed, Holy Ghost filled servant of Jesus Chirst, your potential is enough of a threat to satan’s plans that he has assigned one or more of his servants the task of destroying your walk with God.   

Now, let’s be absolutely clear.  Satan really doesn’t give a crap about your money or your job.  In the spiritual realm those things are just means to a much larger end.   Satan attacked Job’s family, income, and health, not because satan wanted Job’s family, income, or health, but because the devil wanted to destroy Job relationship with God.

Job 1: 11     But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!

There may be people who are jealous of the things you possess.  That doesn’t necessarily mean that they are demonically possessed.  They might just be miserable, covetous jerks.  

There are people who don’t support your efforts, who think that your ideas are stupid.  That doesn’t necessarily mean they are agents of satan.  They may just have opposing opinions, and that’s O.K.  (It’s also possible that they aren’t hating at all but that your idea was in fact stupid.)

Angels and demons have spiritual and eternal agendas.   Your physical possessions and activities are not the eternal point. 

The spiritual is clearly at work when attacks on you are given a spiritual context:

-          The voice that whispers, “Why would God let this happen?”

-          The suggestion that you go check out this lady who does fortunes, and spiritual readings, and stuff.

-          The “friend” who encourages you to sin because “God knows you need to do something for yourself sometimes.”

These are all efforts to damage your relationship with Jesus.  And the worst of these, the most devilishly clever (literally” devilish”) attacks come tailor-made for your issues.

Paul repeatedly talks about these tailor-made attacks.

In Hebrews 12: 1, Paul refers to the sin that so easily ensnares/ besets us. 

Hebrews 12: 1     Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us

This “besetting sin” is so intense that it can override the influence of godly examples and company.  This besetting sin isn’t simply the weight of stress.  You can lay aside every weight of stress and still be carrying the sin. 

In 2 Corinthians 12: 7,Paul refers to the messenger of Satan who was assigned to harass him.  That guardian demon was a thorn in his flesh.

Jesus’ guardian demon was Lucifer himself.  He pulled away from Jesus from time to time, but the whole time Jesus was earth, Satan was always lurking around, looking for a more opportune time to strike (Luke 4: 13).

Many, if not all, people have a particular issue, a specific sinful tendency that is a persistent thorn in their side.  Some people are easily ensnared by alcohol, or drugs, or pornography.  Some folks are beset by unreasonable anger, or jealousy, or self-loathing.    Your issue(s) may be youthful lusts that have plagued you since childhood. There are real sociological, physiological, and psychological elements of your issue.

So why then, when all the proper social, medical, and psychological factors are put into effect; doesn’t the thorn in your flesh go away?   Because there’s a spiritual element to your particular issue. 

There’s an active, intelligent spiritual saboteur engaged in a campaign to keep you from reaching your spiritual potential, and until you also deal with the spiritual aspect, you won’t ever fully solve with the problem.

Sometimes the solution is that God delivers you from the spiritual attacker.  Sometimes God’s solution is to give you the grace to endure the attacks. 

However the solution comes, God has already assigned a guardian angel to be there for you.

Now, before you start looking around into the air and giving orders to your invisible guardian angel, take a moment and reflect on all the places in the Bible in which a human being ordered an angel of God to go do something for him.

I’ll wait.

Didn’t happen.  Angels are ministering spirits.  Some are assigned to watch over you, but make no mistakes, the real angels don’t take orders from you.  They report to God.

If you have a spiritual experience in which you can invoke an angelic creature and direct it to do your bidding--- you’ve been tricked.  You’ve been hoodwinked.  You’ve been bamboozled, led astray, and run amuck.   That’s not your guardian angel.  That’s your guardian demon playing the double agent.

Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. ^Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. (2 Corinthians 11: 14b, 15)

Guardians angels don’t take orders from people.  You can be comforted by your guardian angel.  You can be discerning, aware, and more confident because of the protective work of your guardian angel, but you cannot look to your guardian angel as the source of good in your life.  You can’t make the angel do anything.  You still have to look directly to God.

When your guardian demon comes at you late at night, when your issue re-asserts itself, when that old, ugly feeling comes on you and you can’t shake it, don’t cry out to the angel.  Cry out to God.   God will direct as many angels to the task as are necessary.  When angels are insufficient, He’ll handle it personally.  Those details are not our problem though.

Our job is to understand the enemy’s game, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices (2 Corinthians 2: 11).   

Our job is to persist on the path that leads to an ever-deepening relationship with God. 

Hebrews 1 speaks of snares and weights that beset us, but the passage continues and provides encouragement and the solution.

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12: 1b, 2a).

No matter how long this thing has followed you, affected you, and dragged you down----look to Jesus. 

No matter how many times you have let this thing mess you up and make you mess up----look to Jesus. 

I know that you’ve prayed before and thought you were done with it before but when the opportune moment came it was right back into the same garbage.  I understand that.  I really do.  Doesn’t change the solution. 

Look to Jesus.

His grace is sufficient because His strength is perfected in our weakness.

God has already positioned the personal and spiritual elements necessary to neutralize your guardian demon.  Get back on God’s side and get out of God’s way.  When the right time comes, God will order your guardian angel to take the shot that takes out your guardian demon.

----- Anderson T. Graves II

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is the pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church

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