When The Enemy Strikes

Just when you think you're in the clear: just when you think you've got it right and no one can bring you down... Satan hits with a brute force that you seemed to almost forget existed, due to the wonders from above that you have seen up to this point. Isn't that how it always seems to go? Some call it Murphy's Law, I prefer to call it, "the enemy's not getting his way". So he fights back: and fight he does.

Just yesterday, (10 days away from my departure date to Jamaica), I'm on my way home from work, heading to the bank in the middle of a downpour (it had been storming all day), when, out of the CLEAR BLUE SKY.... WHAAACK!!!! My little Pontiac Grand Am (little in comparison) plows into the back of a Jeep Wrangler. PLOWS. You see, what had happened was, as I was driving down this hill in the rain, following behind three other vehicles on a one lane street, when out of NOWHERE, this woman in the front of us decides to SLAM on her breaks, and without a SIGNAL, attempts to make a lefthand turn.

SMART.

So, as you can imagine, the guy behind her slams on his breaks, the girl behind him (the Wrangler), slams on HER breaks, and I slam on mine, when, consequently, my breaks lock up, and suddenly I go skidding, nay, SKIING into her back end. Yes, I strategically placed my Grand Am in the back of, and underneath a Jeep Wrangler. You figure out what my car looked like. I'd draw you a picture, but I'm not very skilled in Microsoft Paint, so I'll spare you.

So anyway, yes, I'm fine, and yes, my car DID recieve the most damage, YES, I was the last to collide, so YES, my insurance company will be paying the most out of anyone in the collision. Boo, boo, and triple boo. The poopiest part about all of this is that the lady who caused the accident got off scott free. Go figure. Well anyway, the short and skinny of it all, is, while I was waiting for the tow truck to come get my mangled piece of wreckage, I began thinking about spiritual warfare, and how this can only be one of Satan's last ditch efforts at keeping me away from the mission field. It was at about this time when this verse came to mind...

"10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Eph 6:10-18).

It's such a blessing to know that God's on my side no matter what! Doesn't that just bless your heart beyond measure? To know that no matter what the circumstances, He's "got your back"? I LOVE it!!

In meditating on my trip and what I might face, and the war I will likely wage as I go, I wrote a poem awhile back as I was flying to a fro from Chicago to Seattle and back to Chicago again: it is the cry of my heart - one of timidity, humility, thankfulness, and hope:

Who am I
That I might conquer the winds and the rains?
Who am I
That I might pull out my sword and put up my shield
to defeat the enemy?
Who am I
That I might answer this call
Going boldy forward on faith alone?

I am a child of He who is sending me
He who is greater than all things
He who is stronger
Who is mightier
Than anything I could imagine to face

I am a child of the Great "I AM"
The Creator of the Heavens and the Earth
He is our Father

I am...

A Child Of God.

And in talking about battles and waging war against the enemy, let me just leave you with one more thing: the lyrics (yet another Bethany Dillon song) of the song I sang tonight in church: a cry of my heart of sorts as I get ready to head out into the mission field...

A Voice Calling Out
Bethany Dillon

I hear a voice calling out
I hear a voice in this wilderness
Where darkness has reigned for so long
Ground is being taken

The trumpet sounds
And Your glory touches the ground
And we all stand in awe
Who it this?
This glory far beyond us
I hear a voice

I hear a drum beating
Heaven's drawing near
The sky will open up
Your people are being healed
I hear a voice

Heaven's battle cry
Rise
See the sun light what was hidden
Heaven's heart beat
See it moving
What was a whisper is now
A voice calling out

I see a generation rising up
No longer accepting lies
Running to the battlefield
And losing their lives
I see a generation rising up
No longer accepting lies
As a band of worshipers run to the battlefield
They're finding their lives
I hear a voice

Heaven's battle cry
Rise
See the sun light what was hidden
Heaven's heart beat
See it moving
What was a whisper is now
A voice calling out