…we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. Acts 16:6a

I was gifted a Book of the Month subscription for my birthday last year, and it’s been so much fun! Each month I get to choose one from five books to have sent to me, and last month I chose one that was outside my typical favored genre. The two main characters were sisters with extraordinary abilities: one could see snippets of the future, and the other could hear and experience the memories of others. The storyline followed them as they searched for their mother, also with a special ability, who had disappeared several years prior. As the storyline progressed, the abilities of both girls intensified to the point of endangerment–in fact, one of the sisters almost died because she was unable to break free from the grip on her mind.

I read the entire thing one day over Christmas break, and by the end I felt…unsettled, uncomfortable, and kind of anxious. All feelings I wasn’t expecting when I chose the book for my monthly read! There was a happy ending with an emotional reunion of mother and daughters, and it was easy to see that the author attempted to celebrate the goodness of the girls and their “gifts.” They were able to find their mother because of them, but at what cost? The burden of the powers far outweighed the positive.

Spiritual power that doesn't come from God might appear to be good on the surface, but it always falls short somewhere. In the case of the sisters I read about, they were able to find their mother, but they were held hostage by their “gifts” at the same time. In Acts we meet a female slave who could accurately predict the future. It doesn’t give us any info about her state of mind, but we know she’s physically enslaved and exploited for doing so.

Living Supernaturally never endangers or enslaves. It’s not burdensome, nor does it leave us feeling unsettled or uncomfortable. Gifts of the Spirit are never life-taking or diminishing in any way. They aren’t given to increase power, wealth, or fame. On the contrary: gifts of the Spirit are uplifting and life- giving—used to point back to the source of Life Himself.

Red flags and warning bells popped up the entire time I was reading the aforementioned book. All in reaction to a work of fiction that I didn’t look closely at before reading and had no idea would have anything to do with the next sermon series! It (and working on this Connect Devotional!) have increased my awareness of things like this happening around me in real life. Have you ever been in a similar situation? How did you respond? What would you do differently today?