When the attacks from the enemy come, and they come, who do you focus upon? The enemy standing before you or the Lord?

I once had a dream which God used to speak a very strong message of where our focus needs to lie when face-t0-face with the enemy.  I share it with you:

There was an egg the size of an apple hovering in the air and coming towards me; this egg was preparing to hatch.  I got all excited and walked over to it and as I did so, I noticed a raven swooping down and coming directly at this hovering egg. I had a few things in my hand and I threw it at the raven to protect the egg. As the raven came right up to the egg and was hit by what I threw, it transformed into a small demon person the size of the raven. It wasn’t interested in the egg, it was engaging with me.  I immediately started to speak in tongues and I was angry and started backing away from it heading back to my companions waiting at the car.  As I did so, a larger more human-size demon cloaked in a red cloak and hovering a bit in the air approached me, following me back to the car trying to harass me with its presence.

I knew I couldn’t let it distract me or take the focus of my attention by engaging with it and so I immediately put on my spiritual shield (Eph 6:14-17) and raised my spiritual eyes to the Holy Spirit to see with higher sight. I knew that even if it followed me I had to ignore it.  (end dream.)

What was the message? Focus.

Focus upon whom?

The enemy which stood before me was trying hard to taunt, harass and terrify me. They were trying to engage me so that my attention would focus on them and once they had that….

The Lord has been teaching me, quite literally teaching me at times through boot camp training exercises, where to place and keep my attention. Who to look to. What to focus upon.

Often the words of Psalm 121 will come to mind “I lift my eyes up to the hills, from whence cometh my help? My help comes from the Lord.”

Why focus on Christ? Why look to heaven?

He is our Rock and our Salvation (Psalm 18:2; Psalm 28:7); He is our Stronghold – we will never be shaken (Psalm 62:2; Psalm 9:9; Psalm 37:39). He is at our right hand; it is He who takes hold of our right hand and leads us forth (Isaiah 41:13). He is, as one of my favorite books states (my paraphrase), at our right hand and on our left side, He goes before us and He covers our backside (Tales of the Restoration by David and Karen Mains).  He  directs what our response should be (Psalm 32:8).

Psalm 73:23-26,28
“Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. …But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.”

(picture courtesy of pixabay)