Are Ghosts Real or Imagined?

     When I got my teaching position in central Thailand, one of the first things I had to do was find a place to live. “How hard can it be?” I thought. Well, it was a lot harder than you might imagine.

First of all, there were no realtors. You couldn’t go to a website and find ads. Sometimes you just drove through the neighborhood where you wanted to live and searched for a “for rent” sign on the gate or in the window. Or, maybe someone you talked to happened to know of an available place. Then you could go check it out in person. And then, there were the ghosts. “What would ghosts have to do with it?” you ask. Let me tell you.

     But first, how was I to find a house? By word of mouth. So after asking around, the word spread, and acquaintances and strangers started offering to take me to see places that were available. They showed me a small, but varied array of possibilities. Interestingly enough, at a few of the houses I looked at, someone had apparently died in them. If this is known, the house will not be rented out easily, as it is believed to be inhabited by the ghost of the dead. After looking at one such house, I saw that it wouldn’t meet my needs. (It was a narrow, two story row house, and the entire front wall on the bottom floor opened up like a garage. That would be suitable for starting up a small shop or business, but not suitable to be my kitchen!) When I told my house finding friends that I wasn’t interested in that house, they said they understood, as no one wanted to live where there was a ghost. They didn’t say this as a joke, with smiles on their faces. They were dead serious. (Pun intended!) The rent for this house was much lower than others for this very reason.
     To most Westerners, this may sound humorous, but in reality, it’s not a joking matter. Belief in ghosts is very prevalent in Thailand, even among the highly educated. Many people live in fear, and not without cause. It is common to hear people speak of real “ghost encounters”, as the spirit world is very real to the Thai.
     Thai people engage in many practices that seek to please the spirits. The placements of “spirit houses” in every yard and/or a “spirit shelf” inside the home are examples of this. They place food and drink daily in these “shrines” and burn incense in order to honor the dead and to please their spirits.

     Though I do not believe in “ghosts”, as in spirits of people who have died, I do believe in demons that may appear in the form of a ghost. The Scripture says that Satan disguises himself (See 2 Corinthians 11:14), and describes him as a deceiver (See Revelation 20:10), a liar, and the father of lies (See John 8:44). I have no doubt that he (or his demon cohorts) could show themselves as a “ghost” of a real person, if that suits their evil plans.
     Satan’s plans are evil, and spiritual oppression is raging hard all across Thailand, as well as many other places in the world. This causes fear and worry, without any real hope of relief.

What About You?
     Do these experiences ring true with you? Are you living in fear of ghosts or evil spirits? If you are, I have good news to share with you: You no longer need to live that way! Yes, Satan is real and evil is real. BUT GOD IS REAL and STRONGER!!!
     God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to come into our human world in order to rescue us (sinful human beings) from the power and guilt of sin and the power of Satan.
     If you sincerely put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, God will put His Holy Spirit inside you. Then, as a child of God, you can ask Him, in the Name of Jesus, to take away the evil spirits that are plaguing you, and He will do it! “Greater is He who is in you” (The Holy Spirit), “than he who is in the world” (Satan). As it is written in Romans 8:32:“If God is for us, who can be against us?” No one! God is always the victor!!!