WINNING WITH THE WORD

“Winning with the Word” is a weekly blog that will help you to be a winner in life by applying God’s principles for living the abundant life as found in the Bible, God’s manual for life.

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Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, novelist and life coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Monday, March 27, 2023, and this is Episode #13 of Series 2023. This episode is titled "Are You an 'Amateur Providence'?"

Sometimes we stand in the way of God by trying to help people instead of simply praying for them. In his classic devotional, My Utmost for His Highest," Oswald Chambers refers to this as being an "amateur providence".  

There is a fine line between helping and controlling, and we must continually be on guard not to cross that line. If we do, it is a sign that we have very likely allowed a Jezebel spirit to enter our lives.

What is a Jezebel spirit? Jezebel was the very domineering wife of the weak-spirited King Ahab, one of the kings of Israel. Her attitude was "My way or the highway."  She wreaked horrific destruction in Israel by promoting the worship of false gods. She killed God's prophets, and she was the cause of the murder of an innocent man.

Jezebel was in the grips of a demonic, controlling spirit that has become known as the Jezebel spirit.  The Jezebel spirit has been the destruction of many marriages, families, and churches. 

Jesus refers to the Jezebel spirit in Revelation 2: 20 when He addresses the church of Thyatira: “But I have a few things against you: You permit that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat food sacrificed to idols”. Jesus is reprimanding the church of Thyatira for permitting the Jezebel spirit to continue to operate in its midst. 

How can we recognize a Jezebel spirit? Here are some characteristics:

1. The ultimate goal of the Jezebel spirit is control. This spirit wants its own agenda to prevail, and will do anything and everything to accomplish it. People in the grips of the Jezebel spirit are usually very insecure and see themselves in a negative light. They have usually been emotionally wounded in some way and seek significance in ruling over others. 

2. The Jezebel spirit rebels against authority, especially male authority. Usually this rebellion against male authority stems from a poor relationship with one's father.  One of the worst displays of the Jezebel spirit occurs in a church where the pastor is weak and allows himself to be controlled by this spirit. 

3. The Jezebel spirit is manipulative.  It tries to undermine divinely appointed leadership by pretending to step up to the plate in order to help, while all the while it is taking authority that does not belong to it. 

4. The Jezebel spirit operates clandestinely, often under the guise of sacrificial servanthood. If a leader is not discerning, he or she will be overcome by the Jezebel spirit.

5. The family of one who has yielded to the Jezebel spirit is often chaotic and out of order.  The Jezebel spirit always requires the presence of the Ahab spirit in order to accompli...