Psalms 11:2 For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.
Poison of the spirit is the flaming dart of the enemy. A poisoned spirit suffers from the arrow of the wicked. The target of the wicked is the man with right standing with God. The wicked shot the arrow against the heart of the Righteous so that he might misbehave and have problem in his relationship with God.
MANIFESTATIONS OF THE DART OF THE WICKED
Few of the kind of manifestations of the arrow of the Wicked are:
1. SORROW - The arrow of sorrow makes a man to be distablized in the pursuit of purpose. Such arrow can manifest through gang-up or evil plot against your spirit man.
In the days of Ahaz, the king of Judah; Rezin, the king of Syria set up an evil plot against the Kingdom of Judah. The Lord inspired prophet Isaiah to expose and truncate the plan as he prophesied in Isaiah 7:5-7 :
Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.
Vexation of the spirit can be an avenue for the arrow of the enemy to succeed against the Kingdom people. A man with vexed spirit has tendency to lose his guard in the face of provocation. The enemies often vex our spiritman to distablize us; do not give room for the devil. Our confidence is in the Lord who gives victory in the midst of challenges.
Friend, when the Wicked shot hit dart against you, remember the promise of God in Isaiah 7:7
Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.
2. GRIEF - A life who suffered loss of the beloved ones have tendencies to suffer the grief caused by the arrow of the Wicked. Grief caused by the dart of the Wicked produces deep sadness for the loss of someone or something loved. A spirit suffering grief can be bitter and develop hatred for his victims.
In a grieved situation, you need to allow the Lord to help you. Sometimes, the people you hope to get succor from may add to your challenges. It must be understood that, we may not be able to control people adding salt to our wounds, but we must control our actions and steps towards them so that our reactions will not engender strife. It takes maturity of the spirit to pass through the season of grief successfully.
When the Wicked forces shot the evil arrow against your home to cause the death of your loved ones, you must be quick to pray:
Psalms 22:19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me. 22:20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. 22:21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. 22:22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
3. ANGUISH - The state of anguish is the condition of getting angry without a cause. Such may be a reaction that finds its root in the arrow shot against the victim. A man with anguished spirit is a life suffering extreme pain, distress, or anxiety. The anguish of the spirit can make the victim to misbehave and fall off the grace.
Anguish of the spirit can lead the victim into shameful deeds. You must always remember that, any action carried out at the level of provocation always leads to foolish endeavour. We must exercise patience in the face of provocative issues.
Getting angry without a cause is a pathway to living under divine judgment.
Matthew 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Anguish of the spirit can be a cause of transfer of aggression. When our heart is troubled and we decided to transfer aggression to a novice, we must remember that, the person we transfer aggression to is not the offender. It is better to settle the matter in your heart rather than misbehaving towards someone else.
Some people resolved to treat the time of anguish with silence. As good as it may be, silence is a way of repressing our anger. The weapon of silence had been understood many times to be the best answer to a fool. When you are too silent, people may count it that you are making them a fool.
4. HEARTBREAK - A broken heart is a dangerous experience, it is not palatable to experience. Heartbreaking may come as a result of provocation from rivals who take pleasure in frustrating your life. Hannah was provoked by her rival in the days of her barrenness. Her rival, Peninnah often provoked her sore.
And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb. - 1 Samuel 1:6
Rather than paying back her provocative rival, she resolved to take up the case in prayer. When you choose to hold your rival in your heart, you will have more pain. It takes a life who let go to get freedom from heartbreaking experience. It is worth understanding that:
The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear? - Proverbs 18:14
Sometimes, someone may make himself a rival to you because of envy. The purpose of rivalry is to make your life miserable.
Hatred for your rival may be dangerous. It can make you to develop hatred for the concerned. Dealing with rival has to do with forgiveness from the heart. Until you forgive the person, you may not be able to focus on your purpose. The agenda of rival is to distract you from fulfilling your purpose, do not give him a chance.
Heartbreaking may come where you least expected. It may be from friend, loved ones, siblings, business associates, or the most trusted person in your life. We have seen situations where someone turned insane because of heartbreaking issues. It is good to trust men, but you must not hold anyone too serious to the point of breaking down because the person failed in the discharge of his responsibility. Only God is perfect, so when men failed, life must continue.
5. HARDENED HEART - Hardness of the heart can be as a result of diverse dealings. The hardened heart can make a man to shut-in the bowels of mercy against his neighbour.
Deuteronomy 15:7 If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:
The hardened heart can be a selfish heart. This is a situation where the heart will live in self centered lifestyle.
Proverbs 28:14 say: Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
6. UNYIELDING HEART - This is a situation where a man no longer desire to do God's will. Such a heart cannot do the will of God nor work with God. Experience of agony can make a heart to become unyielding. It may be as a result of unexpected failure despite the fact that we had trusted God's ability, yet to no avail.
It takes yielded heart to maintain fervency in the spirit. So, make it your lifestyle to keep fervency of the spirit, then you will overcome the dart of the Wicked.
Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord. - Romans 12:11
[Watch out for the next episode: "Symptoms of Poisoned Spirit"]
Rev'd Dr Nathaniel Tade Obaniyi.
(President, Dayspring Vision, Nigeria.)
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