Do you worry or feel anxious when things are out of your control? You may be a control freak. Do you get angry when you aren’t in control? Are you ambitious, independent, critical, boastful, self-centered, volunteer for everything, manipulate to get your way, play the drama queen, love to vent, and use self pity to gain sympathy? Or does this describe someone in your life? Then you, or they, might be operating under the influence of a Jezebel spirit, according to Steve Sampson in his book Confronting Jezebel: Discerning and Defeating the Spirit of Control.
Steve Sampson shares chapter after chapter of stories of people who possess a Jezebel spirit to the extreme and the havoc they reap in people’s lives in business, in culture, and especially the church. While the illustrations seem extreme and leave you feeling disturbed that people could act like this, it is not hard to perhaps find some aspect of the characteristics in yourself or a key person in your life. Each chapter ends in a prayer that points you inward to repent of any Jezebel-like tendencies.
By the last chapter, I was desperate for the answer - how do I free myself from the cycle of manipulation at the hands of others? The final chapter was way too short, truncated, and lacking in illustrations. Throughout most of the book, Steve Sampson details the characteristics of a Jezebel and the destruction it causes with proliferous illustrations, but he ended abruptly with simplified solutions in the last few pages. By attributing it to a demonic spirit, the author seems to excuse the person from their behavior and doesn’t offer much hope for change in his examples, but his answers in the last few pages did offer hope, though illustrations were lacking.
Whether or not you believe controlling people are ruled by an actual demonic spirit, this book is at least interesting and opens up the eyes to the deceit in your own heart and more understanding of the behaviors of others.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Chosen in exchange for my honest review.
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