It requires patience to overcome the spirit of wasting. And it also requires obedience. As pointed out in the last session, it’s a slow process. The first time I really became conscious of God’s strategy for driving it out was right after He’d showed me how to deal with rejection. That too, at least for me, was a lengthy process but when it was finally over, something quite unexpected happened. I’d been counting on God communicating something to me along the lines of unconditional acceptance, the opposite of rejection. I wasn’t anticipating an audible Voice emanating from a shining cloud and proclaiming, ‘This is My daughter, My beloved, My adopted child, My chosen one!’—but I had the idea that some sense of a similar sentiment should arise in my heart.

But no. I should have realised God knows me better than that. My love language is not verbal expressions of favour: it’s having problems solved. So, I was waiting for a sense of love and favour to descend, but instead God said to me, ‘I’ve got a project for the next forty days I’d like you to be part of.’

‘Yes?’ I asked warily. Forty days, I thought suspiciously. Forty: a number evocative of testing, trials, wilderness experiences.

‘Let’s get rid of the spirit of wasting in your life.’

‘Oh, yesyesyesyesyes!’ I couldn’t think of anything I’d like more.

‘It’s going to mean war.’

‘Goes without saying, doesn’t it?’

‘I’m not talking about spiritual conflict. I mean the Angel.’

‘Oh.’ I paused to consider the Angel who carried the name War. Now let me tell you about this Angel because if you try to look him up, you won’t find any mention of him. But here’s the passage where God speaks of him:

‘See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you… I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.

Exodus 23:20–22;27–30 NIV

Now the reason I’ve emphasised the words ‘in him’ is because they can also mean ‘war’. The name of God’s terror, his hornet, is War. This angel has only one function—war—and if we do not obey, he will turn on us.

And we cannot face this terrifying entity unless we can master panic and rejection. Suddenly it made perfect sense why I’d never overcome the spirit of wasting. Unless the spirit of rejection is mastered first, War cannot come to our aid.

This is Grace Drops and I’m Anne Hamilton. May God deploy His Angel, War, on your behalf.

Thank you to Lorna Skinner of www.riversofmusic.co.uk for the background music.

To deal with the spirit of wasting, you first need to be able to overcome the spirit of rejection. To learn how to master it, see Dealing with Azazel: Spirit of Rejection is available as a paperback.In addition, understanding false refuges is the single most important step towards dealing with the obstacles barring you from coming into your calling. Hidden in the Cleft explains false refuges in more detail and is available as a paperback or an ebook.