Spiritual Warfare
Our perceptions of spiritual warfare are probably as varied as our imaginings of God. One sees Him as the Old Man with long, flowing, white beard and hair...the other sees Him as an amorphous blinding light. One sees angels and demons locked in physical combat, bright swords clanging against crude orcish shields...the other sees flurries of prayer protecting us from invisible, invasive attack.I don't know what spiritual warfare looks like. I only know it's real. I've been aware of the fighting raging all about me at times. At other times, I've been oblivious until it was over. I've seen Satan win and I've seen him lose. And as the years have gone by, I've gotten better at identifying when the war, which in truth is constantly ongoing, has intensified.
When a man with no previous heart problems gets set to lead a spiritual event but almost dies of a heart attack...then two more workers check into the hospital with possible heart attacks and highly elevated blood pressure; when a woman gets ready to lead the same event only to have her mother die suddenly; when two weekend retreats are met with broken ribs, broken hands, bronchitis, pneumonia, surgery complications, bouts of depression, and sudden workplace problems; when a church decides it is about time to get missional and is beset by a similar group of problems...well, can there be any doubt that the enemy is kicking things up a notch?
Can there be any doubt that he's scared?
I've been here before and I've seen people fold up their tents. I've seen people turn on each other. I've seen people abandon their ideals and give in. I've seen the enemy win.
And I've seen people redouble their efforts. I've seen them realize that if the devil doesn't want something to happen then there is every reason to be sure it does happen. I've seen the enemy lose.
I've learned that the single most important thing to do at times like this is to pray. I don't pretend to know how our prayer actually affects the battle. But I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that it does affect it. God is faithful to protect us at these times and the devil will flee when rebuffed in Jesus' name. I beg for continued prayer right now. For the retreat Lisa will be a part of this weekend. For the continuing effects of the retreat I was part of last weekend. For the efforts we are making at College. For the decisions Cecil is helping to make in Florida. For Randy and Brady and Greg and everyone else who has purposed to help their local church be Jesus to the world. For protection from the blatant attacks the enemy is bringing. God's power is far greater and His love for us is perfect. Satan can't win the war. I pray he loses this battle.
posted by Thurman8er @ 9:02 AM
5 Comments:
I know this will seem like a cliché but trust me, in my case it isn’t. Your post today was extremely timely!
Thank you my brother.
Similar stuff has been going on at our church. In our case it has been the children's ministry workers who work with the under 2 age range being attacked with a sudden need for major surgery and a broken hip. I've also noticed enough little problems coming up with my family that I was wondering this morning if God is trying to get my attention about something or if Satan is trying to distract me from something.
God's work here on earth is not for the faint of heart...perserverance and boldness have never been so necessary as they are now! Satan must be feeling threatened - which means all of you are on the right course.
God WILL win...He hears our prayers. My prayer list is growing longer...
The fact that you recognize that there is a war and that you know the players will assure a victory. Will you win this battle? You will not know for sure until you can look at it as history.
Great Post!
Grace and Peace,
Royce Ogle
At the risk of sounding like Simon Cowell judging some American Idol performance, this may be one of your best blogs yet! I think if a church isn't experiencing those attacks, it just isn't doing anything of kingdom value.
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