A Victim Spirit

"Several years ago a Jenny Jones show featured women who thought they had hot bodies (gorgeous figures). As I sat in my living room, taking a break from work, I was drawn by the sheer audacity of some of the guests. One woman thought she was the spitting image of drop-dead gorgeous Oscar-winner Halle Berry. Now, Halle is a looker (in Texas that means she's beautiful), so stunning that she pulls top billing in Hollywood's highest-grossing movies. Believe me, the girl on Jenny's show was no Halle Berry!

The confused young lady boasted of the resemblance, though she was about 150 pounds overweight, and that was the least of her problems. As she preened on the runway with prissy hip-action, the audience booed and hissed in obvious disagreement with her personal assessment. It was painful to watch the supposed look-alike woman argue with everyone in the studio who tried, usually with gentleness, to tell her the truth. Finally, one slender, clean-cut young Black American man jumped to his feet, determined to be heard: "Girl, sit yo self down! Someone's done lied to you!" Well, friends, the devil is the liar--he's often lied to me, and he's probably lied to you too. Let's set the record straight!

The devil never plays fair, but he does play for keeps. Where he gains a toehold in our lives through fear, falsehood, trauma, injustice, betrayal, or generational iniquity, he will develop a foothold, which will ultimately become a demonic stronghold unless we do something about it.

God has given us unique personalities with a specific purpose to fulfill our kingdom assignment on this earth. For example, see Ps. 16:5-8; 22:9-11; 139; Is. 44:2. The devil wants to kill, steal and destroy our belief in the truth (John 10:10); to remain a victim puts a person at risk of losing sight of God's purpose.

If after being traumatically victimized our thinking becomes polluted and we develop false conclusions and convictions, these can manifest in illicit behaviors like overeating, lying, violence, chemical abuse, various sexual perversions, phobias, excessive spending, or sloth. I refer to a "victim spirit" on two different levels.

First, I use the term "victim spirit" to refer to the (human) spirit of a person who's been violated in some way and, whether intentionally or unintentionally, has failed to process the experience properly. A person who embraces the victim mindset keeps the victimization pattern reoccurring unless or until it's broken. I'm not referring to everyone who's been abused; only those who continue believing lies and thereby allow pedatorsw to shape their lives. A victim, for instance, can explain why it's right for things to be wrong, continuing to allow access to an abuser, such as a woman who excuses physical abuse by her husband; in her mind she thinks she is the problem, and deserves beating. Or a boy who continues to accept bullying or harassment at school, without standing his ground and speaking out for his intrinsic worth--in his mind, he's worthless and he doesn't merit anything else.

Second, a "victim spirit" can refer to any one of a host of unseen demonic spirits who are attracted to and desire to attach themselves to a person who will embrace their lies and behaviors, accepting a "victim identity." An unseen world of darkness filled with spirit beings is looking for opportunity to harass and torment you. For instance, see Judg. 19:25; 2 Sam. 13: 1-20; John 10:10. When victimization produces trauma, demons often attach themselves to the wounded individual to advance the diabolical cycle of events. The victim's fear, intimidation, and hopelessness are now satanically supercharged.

Terms used to describe demonic activity in an individual are:

Demon obsession: mental or emotional obsession caused by an evil spirit, often involving confusion, hallucination, fantasy, hearing voices in the mind, and paranoia.

Demon oppression: experience of feeling pressed down (physically, mentally, and/or emotionally), characteristically yielding depression, lethargy, chronic fatigue, and sometimes-suicidal thinking.

Demon possession: Although the KJV uses the word "possession," the original Greek word means "demonized," describing a person in whom a demon dwells. The Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit. Demonic spirits dwell in a person's soul (mind, will and emotions) or body and can't affect the spirit."

-By Alice Smith