Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
3 20 2026
The Spirit of Offense – What is It?
In many decades of ministry, compounded by decades of just raw living, I’ve noticed something about almost every man I’ve ever met. There is an anger… just below the surface.
(Honestly, I’ve heard from some ladies…It isn’t just them!)
Most have learned how to manage it, control it, and keep it in check. But every now and then, it leaks out. And when it does, and someone calls it out, there’s almost a voice inside that rises up and says, “If you only knew how hard I’ve worked to keep that in… you’d be more forgiving.”
Whether we’ve said it out loud or not, most of us know it’s true. We fight that battle all the time.
It’s what I call… “the spirit of offense”. And just to be clear—it’s not from God.
It’s a mixture of unrealistic expectations, judgments, disappointments, and standards that are too high for us… let alone for everyone else. Over time, life gets heavy. Responsibilities pile up. The pressure doesn’t let up. And somewhere in the middle of all that, we get weary… and a little short-tempered…
So it simmers.
This “spirit of offense”.
Now as we get older, thank God, we mellow a little. We become less reactive, more measured. Or maybe… we just get used to carrying it.
In the Old Testament, cities were surrounded by massive walls—thick, impenetrable walls built for protection. At night, the gates would close, and they wouldn’t open until morning. No armies. No intruders. No threats getting in. But there was one small entrance… a narrow passageway. So small you couldn’t even walk through it carrying your gear. You had to set everything down to enter.
And someone once likened that to entering the peace of God. You don’t bring your baggage in with you.
Not your judgments.
Not your unforgiveness.
Not your burdens.
Not your right to be angry… because of what they did.
You lay it down… or you don’t enter. Are you listening to what has happened to your peace?
But here’s the problem. Over the years, instead of laying it down, we suppress it. And what starts as frustration slowly grows into something deeper… an ugly root of justification.
And let’s be honest—we are very good at justifying ourselves.
It becomes predictable. You become predictable. Now it’s almost automatic. Like we’ve trained ourselves to respond this way. And the more we try to control it in our own strength, the deeper it roots itself. It’s amazing—something so common, so widespread, has been accepted as “just the way I am.”
But it’s not.
It’s not personality.
It’s not just stress.
It’s not just life.
And, It’s NOT the way your were born.
It’s spiritual.
And trying to fight something spiritual with human willpower… how’s that working for us?
We are exhausted. And deep down, what we really want is simple:
I just want peace… just give me some peace.
But peace doesn’t come through control. It comes through surrender.
The Bible calls it “a sacrifice of praise”. That’s how you enter in.
Not by trying harder.
Not by managing better.
But by laying something down that costs you something.
We’ve been out of alignment for a long time. So much so that many have quietly concluded, “This is just how God made me.”
No… it isn’t.
God created us for His pleasure—and so that we might know the pleasure of living in His presence. Even now. Right in the middle of all of this!
But you can’t produce that kind of life in your own strength. That’s why He gave us His Spirit.
So that, through the Holy Spirit, we could actually begin to live out HIS nature.
And Jesus Is – The Prince of Peace.
Entering that peace is like entering that city. You don’t walk in carrying everything.
You come with a sacrifice… A sacrifice of praise.
You lay down the anger.
You lay down the offense.
You lay down the judgment, the unforgiveness… the justification…
And you place it at the foot of the cross, you surrender it, in the name of Jesus.
Not your will.
His will.
Because this isn’t just a struggle… it’s a war. Not just any war…It’s a spiritual war!
And who trained you to fight it?
And Scripture tells us to stand. (Eph 6;10)To put on the full armor of God and stand until we see the Lord move in this area of our lives.
So let me make it simple.
What if… for one day…
You offered up your anger?
Just one day…First thing in the morning…in prayer.
What if, for one day, you chose forgiveness toward the person who hurt you the most?
Not forever. Just today.
As a sacrifice…Not in your strength, But ask God the Holy Spirit to do it through you.
As you walk through these days of prayer, every day offering something that actually costs you something. Because this isn’t about waking up tomorrow and trying harder to be spiritual.
It’s about learning to abide.
Staying close to Christ.
Staying in His Word.
Staying sensitive to His Spirit.
And daily… offering something back to Him.
Obedience. Asking Him to give you the strength to say NO.
And over time, something beautiful begins to happen.
Your reactions begin to change.
Your patience begins to grow.
Your heart begins to soften.
And that tormenting spirit of offense… starts to lose its grip.
And in its place?
What the apostle Paul described in Galatians 5—the fruit of the Spirit.
Love.
Joy.
PEACE
Patience.
Kindness.
Goodness.
Faithfulness.
Gentleness.
Self-control.
Fruit grows slowly.
Sometimes through joy.
Sometimes through suffering.
And sometimes through people who test every ounce of patience we have.
But over time…
Love becomes the evidence that Christ is truly living in us.
And along with that love comes something many of us have been chasing for years…
the peace of Christ that surpasses everything else.
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lauren daigle peace be still
