Joseph Lister is known as the ‘father of antiseptic surgery’, developing antiseptic solutions which treated wounds after surgery which thereby reduced the number of deaths from post-operative infections caused by microbes invisible to the human eye. We are used to the many signs in hospitals nowadays urging us to wash our hands with antibacterial solutions to avoid spreading infection inadvertently through touch, so it is hard for us to imagine the battle he had to make people believe infections could be prevented through such a simple procedure as washing hands.
Washing hands is so commonplace today that it is hard to comprehend just how many lives were lost in times past because of a simple lack of hygienic procedures. Yet we continue blithely with our spiritual lives, failing to realise that there are evil spiritual forces as invisible but as deadly as invisible bacteria, seeking whom they may devour.
God has given us the ‘antiseptic protection’ we need to defeat these spiritual forces and avoid spiritual infection, but just as we must physically do something (wash our hands in antibacterial soap) to avoid physical infection, so there are spiritual practices we must do to avoid spiritual infection.
- Give thanks. This simple practice (1 Thess 5:18, Eph 5:20) is easily overlooked when facing trials. By giving thanks in all circumstances, we acknowledge God’s sovereignty, love and care and look for His deliverance and protection, rather than relying on our own strength.
- Love Jesus, not the world. When we love God, our priorities are shifted and we learn to value eternal things above material and temporal things, protecting us from the enemy within (sin), the enemy around (the world) and the enemy above (the devil) – see 1 Jn 2:15-17.
- Love God’s people. Natural infection often leads to isolation to avoid the risks of infecting others. It is easy to believe that isolation from other Christians is the answer to the problems we often face, but God’s way is never to withdraw from fellowship, but to seek the more excellent way of love (see 1 Cor 13.) Other Christians protect and strengthen us from being drawn away from Christ, offering challenge, support, encouragement and fellowship.
- Be washed in God’s word. Eph 5:26-27 reminds us that God’s word as a cleansing agent, washing us so that we will ultimately be presented to God without any stain, wrinkle or blemish, ‘holy and blameless.‘ Though God’s word may sting us like an antiseptic (see Heb 4:12), it has power to lance the poison of sin from our souls and keep us clean and free from infection.
- Pray continually. By keeping the channels of communication open between us and God, we are able to access all the resources and power of God Himself. We are not alone in our struggles, but have a helper who is mighty to save!