1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
October 18, 2020
Back when TVs needed rabbit ears antennas to play and there were only 3 TV stations, ABC, NBC, and CBS instead of the 250 or more that we have today, a poplar daytime soap opera named Dark Shadows was birthed. Dark Shadows was about the prominent Collins family. But the star of the show was Barnabas Collins, a near 200-year-old vampire.
Barnabus was an extremely scary character, especially for a little 4-year-old child such as myself back then. Furthermore, the musical score for the show was the most daunting music I had heard up until that time. However, there was a character that was more evil to me than Barnabus, and that was my oldest brother. He didn’t have fangs like Barnabus, at least not those that anyone could see, but he made Barnabus look like a toy character compared to him.
When my mother would leave to go to work, he would play the nice older brother that was going to watch his little baby sister. But, no sooner than my Mom got out of the front door, I was already in my hiding place, the attic. I knew that I was safer there than being with him.
With my Mom being gone, my brother would remove his nice mask and reveal the evil person that I knew behind the mask. Not knowing my hiding place, he would call for me to come out of hiding by at first, trying to lure me with lunch in a wickedly nice voice. When I wouldn’t show, he would get angry and the wickedly nice voice switched- to just wicked.
My brother would turn up all the TVs in the house as loud as they could go, and I would hear the eerie Dark Shadows music playing to the start of the show. I could also hear him banging on the walls and doors and yelling that Barnabus was right behind me, and that he was going to get me, unless I came to him. I might’ve only been 4 years old, but I had enough wisdom to know that I would rather take my chances with Barnabus than with him.
I learned a lot of things while hiding from my brother up in the attic. I learned to be comfortable in the dark, because that attic was definitely a dark place. I learned to be comfortable with being alone. I learned how to be strong. I learned about the peace of God. I learned to not be afraid of Barnabus and I learned to not be afraid of anything that my brother said.
And I’ve learned a lot of things from that time until now. I’ve learned a lot about toxic people such as my brother. Toxic people are like pure poison, all bad for you. Toxic people have absolutely nothing good to offer you and when they present otherwise, it’s all-pretend, because they only want something from you that serves their purpose.
Toxic people do not have your best interest at heart and are operating under the guises of Satan. They seek to steal, kill, and destroy-you, at any cost. I mean that figuratively and literally.
Some toxic people seek to take your physical life. But if that’s not possible, they will stop at nothing to take from your life until they suck you dry of your joy, happiness, dreams, purpose, peace, and love. Toxic people are in fact the real vampires.
Toxic people represent a wide range of vampires, but I’ll mention a few. There are energy vampires, who intentionally zap you of all your energy. You will be so tired after dealing with them; you have nothing else to give - to God, yourself, or others.
There are emotional vampires, who drain you emotionally and have you in such frenzy with your emotions you don’t know whether you’re coming or going. They get their fangs in you and feed off of taking every ounce of your emotional stability. And then there are the soul vampires, who drain you of your very life force.
What do all of these vampires have in common? They all leave you spiritually anemic. Anemia is basically a condition in which the blood lacks the sufficient number of red blood cells, which provide oxygen and other nutrients to the cells of the body. A person who is anemic often has a lack of energy and feels tired all of the time, they’re cold, may have brain fog, and a host of other health problems.
The same is true with spiritually anemic people. They find themselves tired and don’t even know why. They don’t have energy to give to God the way that they want to or that they should. And they certainly don’t have the energy to undertake any work that God has purposed for them to do. Their prayer life is not where it should be, nor are they able to keep up with reading and studying God’s word.
Anemic people are vulnerable to a host of foreign agents invading their body, and so it is with spiritually anemic people. They leave themselves open to being invaded by evil spirits and all of the spiritual viruses and bacteria that these evil spirits bring. Spiritually anemic people that have met with one of these vampires may have no idea why they feel the way that they do.
Although a lot of other things can cause spiritual anemia, even one encounter with a toxic person or vampire can lead to spiritual anemia and a host of other problems. It is imperative to protect your mind, heart, body, and soul from these evil forces. And here are 7 things that you can do to protect yourself.
1. You must have a committed relationship with God and Walk in the Spirit Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. The only way to have a committed relationship with God is to repent of your sins and the only way to walk in the Spirit is to have a committed relationship with God.
2. Put on and keep on the whole armour of God- You are fighting real and evil spirits Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
3. Have a strong prayer life- Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
You can see people, but you can’t see spirits unless the Holy Spirit shows them to you with your spiritual eyes. In order to be spiritually alert you must have a strong and committed prayer life. The Holy Spirit will give you a spirit of discernment and reveal things to you that you otherwise would not know.
4. Be sober and vigilant –1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Be serious about the health and state of your mind, heart, body, and soul, more serious than ever before. Make a new pact with yourself that you’re going to take things to a new level in protecting yourself- and that means every part of you.
5. Guard your heart at all costs- Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. The heart is the blood pump for the body. If the heart fails, the body fails. Vampires and toxic people love to go after your spiritual heart. When your heart is weak, all of you will become weak. So be persistent and consistent in guarding your heart.
6. Protect your peace Psalms 34:14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. I’ve always heard this scripture related to people departing from their evil ways. But God has given me a broader revelation of this scripture- To depart from evil means just that- whatever and whoever is evil, including toxic people and spiritual vampires that act to take your peace. Leave them behind. You’ll be doing yourself a whole lot of good, so that you will have the necessary energy to search for peace and pursue it.
7. Let Them Go– 1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
Once God shows you these toxic people and vampires, doesn’t matter who they are, or how long you’ve known them, if they don’t add value to your life, they are taking from it- Let them go.
With God, you will recognize toxic people and vampires whose main goal is to drain you of all things good. God will give you the power to defeat them. God will protect every single aspect of your life, so that you can live the life He has prepared for you.
Prayer:
Dear Father God,
Thank You Lord for showing me the toxic people and vampires who come to steal, kill, and destroy all aspects of my life. Lord, thank You for Your protection from them and for the divine wisdom that You give me in how to deal with them. Lord, I ask that You would bless me with an even greater outpouring of Your Holy Spirit. I ask that You would sharpen my spiritual hearing Lord, to hear what I’m supposed to hear from You first and foremost. I ask that You would sharpen my spiritual vision so that I can see things more clearly. I claim victory over any and all demonic forces that seek to destroy any aspect of my life right now, so that I can fully live the life that You have prepared for me. Thank You Lord.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen
Copyright © 2020 Healing Restoration Ministries