614 The Spiritual Man
is willing to be weak in order that he may be strengthened by the
power of God. These two attitudes are commendable but they can be
utilized by the enemy if they are not rightly understood.
Having recognized that there is something of great profit in
suffering, the Christian following consecration may submit passively
to whatever comes to him without question. He simply believes he is
suffering for the Lord and that therefore it is both profitable and
rewarding. Little does he understand that, unless he intentionally
exercises his will both to accept what God allots and to resist what
the enemy dispenses, his passive acceptance of all suffering will
surely afford an excellent opportunity to the evil spirit to torment
him. Suffering at the hand of the evil spirit while believing the
satanic lie that his suffering emanates from God merely gives the
enemy the right to prolong the assault. The person is unaware that his
suffering does not arise from God but arises out of his fulfilling the
conditions for the working of evil spirits. He still pictures himself as
suffering for the church that he may complete what is lacking in
Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body. He conceives himself a
martyr whereas in fact he is a victim. He glories in these sufferings,
yet they constitute but symptoms of the adversary’s entrenchment.
We should notice that all these afflictions which flow from the
work of the evil spirits are meaningless—positively fruitless and
purposeless. Apart from the fact that one is suffering, there is no
sense to it. The Holy Spirit does not bear witness in our intuition that
this proceeds from God.
Should the believer investigate a little he may discover that he did
not encounter such experiences before he offered himself to the Lord
and chose to suffer. Having made the choice, he automatically
accepted all sufferings as from God, although most are triggered by
the power of darkness. He has surrendered ground to the evil spirits;
he has believed their lies; and his life is consequently marked by
unreasonable and ineffectual sufferings. Knowing the truth