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TOPIC: Gordon, Samuel Dickey - Quiet Talks About the Tempter (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 083. Attacking the Citadel
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Attacking the Citadel
Another common mode of approach is through the mind. First, there is the indirect approach to the mind. Whatever weakens the body, by so much robs us likewise of mental strength. I know that it has been commonly said that some of the most saintly men have had weak bodies. But I am quite clear that their saintliness was not due to their weak bodies, but in spite of them. If God may have His way, we will have strong bodies as well as saintly lives. There is no temptation or attack harder to resist than that which comes through or to the body.
Then there is the direct approach to the mind. The commonest form here is to make us over-pleased with ourselves and with what we have done. Egotism is one of the commonest of all vices. The undue sense of our own importance or ability can get in through a very thin crevice, and does. Yet this is a bit of the very core of the Satan-spirit. The line between a proper self-esteem, and an improper thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought to think, is a very thin line, very easily crossed, indeed very hard not to cross.
Only an eye fixed steadily upon Him, who gave us all we have, and to whom we are in debt to do the very best we can with our abilities—only that steady watching of His face will keep our feet steady too, and keep our heads from getting dizzy, when the path leads up some unusual height, with a crowd watching.
But there are other modes of attack upon us through our minds. And I want to speak more fully of these both because they are so very common, and because they are not recognized as coming from the tempter. Mental depression is a favourite mode of attacking Christians, especially those who earnestly desire to ring true. There is a good bit of mental depression without doubt due directly to bodily conditions. But there is also a great deal that comes directly from the evil one or from some of his numerous messenger spirits.
This depression may be found in all degrees of intensity, from the slightest which yields to help, on to the degree of severe melancholy that leads to insanity, and the taking of one's life. It may begin with a sense of loss of peace, a sense of God's presence being withdrawn, as though He were displeased and had left us. The quiet hour of prayer seems mechanical; the heart seems cold, and these very feelings deepen and intensify the sense of depression. While much of this may be traced to bodily conditions, without doubt much of it is a direct attack by an unrecognized evil spirit who is seeking to rob us of peace and power.
Here recognition is half of the remedy, and if it lead to quick resistance in Jesus' Name, the relief will be complete. I recall talking with a Christian lady from Europe, a highly cultured lady of noble birth, whose service has been greatly blest of God to large numbers, but who was suffering from mental depression to a degree that was painful. Recognition of the evil spirit at work, and resistance in the Victor's Name, quickly cleared the sky for the bright shining of the sun again.