Discerning A Spirit In Childhood
As a baby, I was a very sensitive child. Whenever most adults tried to pick me up, I would cry at the top of my lungs in deep fright. My parents’ humble response would be; “ọ na sọ mmadu”; the Igbo statement for “she is very selective about people”. As I grew older, well into childhood and teenagehood, I stopped screaming at the top of my lungs. Instead, I learnt to act withdrawn or totally ignore people I didn’t feel safe around. This bought me the title of a proud snob, and attracted the anger of bullies who couldn’t stand that I thought I was special and wouldn’t behave like everyone else. What they didnt realise at the time, was that as weird as it sounds, I could sense the spirit within them, whether it was good or bad.
Discerning A Spirit In Adulthood
Over the years, as I became an adult, I learned to fake a smile and act pleasant even when I felt only disgust for a person. This was not because it was the right thing to do, but because it was the only way I knew how to avoid their feeling of anger towards my supposed “pride”. I wanted to avoid their feeling of anger which made them, “who does she think she is”. It was just a way out to avoid drama while keeping my peace. So even when all my alarm bells went off about a person, I will sit there, fake a smile, act pleased, engage in friendships I know are not for me. Overtime I got used to doing this, but doing this turned me into a gossip; always backbiting about what they did to the people I trust and having zero peace within myself.
Discerning A Spirit As a Christian
As I became a true Christian, one led by the spirit of God, I realised that what I sensed all those years were the spirits within a person. Back then, I couldn’t place my finger on exactly why I didn’t like certain people but as a Christian with the same inclinations, I now realise that I was very discerning of different spirits. I was sensitive to their little shifts, moods and energies – the subtle changes that others might overlook. I was fully aware of them even as a child.
Now, as a Christian, I am aware that every person deserves kindness, love, friendship, support and even your prayers. Although what you can put a limitation to, is access to the intimate parts of yourself; your vulnerability, your story; not out of fear, but because not even your best friends, but only God can truly be trusted with these.
The Various Spirits
So I now pray for people and engage with them regardless of what I sense, knowing that only God inside me can protect me. Some spirits that have been so easy to identify over the years are;
The spirit of envy: Always comparing others with themselves and going the extra mile to sabotage others if they get the access to.
The covetous spirit: They think things like “I wish I had what you have”. They always assume that other people’s lives are better than theirs and want what others have (similar to the spirit of envy but not quite).
Lust: Always finding things sexually appealing that shouldn’t be
Wickedness: Always having negative things to say about people and ridiculing their little joys. They also sometimes go the extra mile to sabotage people because they genuinely believe these people do not deserve anything good.
Timidity:Always feeling less of oneself and never being able to see the nice things in their life.
Low self esteem: This is usually hidden under grandiose behaviours and a strong urge to brag to support their very small sense of self.
A general foul spirit: You see from their eyes, their smile never reaches their eyes. They could pretend sometimes, but overtime, as you spend time with them, you realise they’ve been hiding.
The clown spirit: A bubbly and happy personality whose only agenda is to draw warmth from you by their funny jokes. Overtime, from the things they say or do, you realise the many other bad spirits underneath.
There are many other foul spirits; the spirit of depression, of a poverty mindset, of anger etc. I believe these ones I listed put me off the most; truly disgusting and sometimes oppressive of others.
What to Do When You Encounter a Spirit
Overall though, it’s tempting to avoid these people to have your peace.If you do though, you will probably have to avoid the whole world because almost everyone on earth, even you and I deal with either of these spirits day in, day out. It takes the wisdom of God to behave right despite knowing what you know. So overtime I have learned to be led only by the spirit of God. That way, it takes away my own natural inclinations.
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