What happens if you are one degree off in any portion of your belief system? Imagine you board an airplane in San Francisco headed for Washington DC. There is an equipment malfunction and the gages are off by one degree. Would you land in Washington DC? The answer is no. You would miss Washington DC by 42.6 miles and end up on the far side of Baltimore, Maryland (Roundy, 2021).
Is it possible that the church is ineffective in spiritual warfare because compromise has entered the ranks and we are often one degree off in our belief system?
We must realize that when we are gazing at the demonic realm rather than on Almighty God, the demonic has effectively neutralized us. When we are gazing at our fears and failures, we have opened the door and the people of God are made hopeless and ineffectual by the demonic. When we believe a lie rather than the truth and faithfulness of God, we have partnered, knowingly or unknowingly, with the demonic and will land one degree or more from the target. The same is true when we compromise and accept worldly values that do not align with the Word of God.
Colossians 3:5 reminds us to put to death anything earthly. What do we need to put to death in our lives? It may be a belief system, addiction or even giving in to the fleshy and earthly culture.
When Elijah had his epic battle with the prophets of Baal, he asked the people a question that still applies to us today. “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word” (1 Kings 18:21, ESV).
The people had become comfortable with the pagan culture and were not worshipping the one true God. I find it disheartening that the people did not respond.
Many in the body of Christ have lost their voices to keep the peace. However, that type of peace is only a momentary Band-Aid on an infected wound. If you remove the underlying infection, it will be a peace that brings healing to a broken world.
What things of God are we not responding to? What are people asking you to compromise to keep the peace, not rock the boat or comply with culture?
The truth is that when we radically align with the Word of God, when we grow in our relationship with Him and when we understand what our identity is, the demonic cannot find a foothold. How do we know this?
“No weapon that is formed against you will succeed; And every tongue that rises against you in judgment you will condemn. This [peace, righteousness, security, and triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from Me,’ says the Lord” (Isa. 54:17, AMP).
The Lord is unwilling to have anything, or anyone, set above Him in our lives. When we compromise our position, we are making a choice, knowingly or unknowingly, not to partner with God. When we compromise, it goes against everything we were created to be. We were designed to align ourselves with heaven.
Allow the Holy Spirit to search every aspect of your life. If an action or belief system does not align with His Word, today is a great day for a course correction. Today is the day to get back on course so you do not miss the mark. {eoa}
Ruth Hendrickson is an ordained pastor, itinerant speaker, ministry trainer and board-certified biblical counselor who has extensive experience in the development, training and oversight of emotional healing ministry teams, recovery ministries, prophetic ministry, prayer ministries and women’s ministry. She is a course facilitator for Patricia King Institute and Charisma courses. She writes for Elijah List and Charisma and has a podcast titled Real Truth with Ruth. Her books include: Positioned: How to be Aligned & Empowered to Walk Into Your Divine Destiny and Everyday Prophetic. Visit Ruth at ruthhendrickson.org.
Brian Barcelona 
Don Colbert, MD 
James Lasher 
