Spiritual Stalkers

Stalker – noun – a person who stealthily hunts or pursues an animal or another person. 

We joke a lot about stalkers around here.  Facebook stalkers.  Friends who join us/run into us almost everywhere we go.  Silly things mostly.  And most of us, if we were honest, would admit that in some way or another we also stalk someone else.  We “follow” people on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.  We know far more about their lives than they’ve ever told us in person, with very little effort at relationship on our part.  My family goes so far as to sing parts of the song “Turn Around, Look at Me,” when we’re creeping up behind each other. 

But how often do we consider what might be stalking us spiritually?  What may be following us in realms unseen?

The Bible actually has a lot to say about spiritual stalkers.

Of course, there are good stalkers, things like those mentioned in Psalm 23:6.  The Word on the Street Paraphrase says it this way, “I know that your good, your best, your love and passion will stalk me, steer me, stand alongside me, [and] outlast every fad and fashion, through all eternity.”  Other translations add the following to this list of good spiritual stalkers:

-          Goodness, mercy, and unfailing love (Amplified)

-          God’s beauty and love (Message)

-          God’s faithful protection and loving provision (Voice)

-          Friendliness (Byington)

Who is stalked by these things, you ask?  I mean, how do we know if we’re being stalked by God’s goodness and best for our lives?  The second part of Psalm 23:6 holds the key.  It says, “And I will live forever in your house, Lord” (CEV).  When we are dwelling in God’s temple, in His church, and in the courts of praise – that’s when we’re guaranteed that God’s blessings will stalk us.  We have to be solidly established in a relationship with Him, in a relationship with His house, in order to guarantee that our spiritual stalkers are blessed ones. 

Throughout the Bible, we are likewise assured that we will be surrounded by:

-          Songs of victory when we confess our sins and are forgiven (Psalm 32:6-7, Living Bible)

-          Abiding love when we trust in the Lord (Psalm 32:10, Living Bible)

-          Lovingkindness and tender mercies, because He has ransomed us from hell (Psalm 103:4, Living Bible)

-          Blessings like a shield, when our hearts are right with him (Psalm 5:12, Voice)

In addition to these positive stalkers, the Bible also warns us of more menacing stalkers that may attach themselves to us, if we open the door for the enemy to work in our lives.   These warnings begin in the very first chapters of Genesis.  Genesis 4:6-7, in the Message Bible says, “God spoke to Cain: ‘Why this tantrum?  Why the sulking?  If you do well, won’t you be accepted?  And if you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.’”  When we disobey God, we open the door for sin to stalk us, to watch for an opening to destroy our lives. 

Romans 3:16 adds to the list of ominous stalkers that may attach themselves to us if we are not seeking God (see verse 11 for that clarification), saying that: “Havoc and ruin follow in their path” (Knox).  The same verse, in other translations, states that when we are not seeking God, our lives are vulnerable to the following additional stalkers:

-          Destruction [as it dashes them to pieces] and misery (Amplified)

-          Suffering (GW)

-          Wretchedness (HCSB)

-          Heartbreak (Message)

-          Failure and pain (NIRV)

The Bible also warns us about pestilence that stalks in darkness (Psalm 91:6, Amplified) and the lies of the wicked that stalk us (Psalm 12:8, Message). 

So you see, while joking about “stalkers” and “followers” on social media is all in light-hearted fun, we have a lot to consider in the spiritual realm.  We need to daily ask ourselves where we may be opening ourselves up for dangerous stalkers sent from the enemy.  And likewise, we must daily decide to align ourselves with God’s heart, so that we can daily reap the benefits and look forward to the fun of being “stalked” by God’s best for us.  Because, after all, the stalker almost always catches up with its prey.