A
battle is raging. I am not talking about Afghanistan or Iraq. I am talking
about a battle that is devouring lives by the millions. Have you heard of anything like this on the
news? This type of war you won’t find on
any news program or the front page of a newspaper. I am
talking about “your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion,
seeking someone to devour” 1 Peter 5:8. Sadly, the realities of this war go widely unnoticed. But is it really unnoticeable?
I am
finding that this battle is taking place right before my eyes. It has been in lack of identity in the
orphans of Ukraine, the poverty of the gypsies in Romania, the hopelessness of the
homeless in Ireland. It was in the death
of a 13 year old in Kenya, it was in the grotesque war of northern Uganda, and the
teens addicted to drugs in Tanzania.
Now in
Thailand I am experiencing this spiritual warfare on a whole new level. It says in the word “for we do not want you
to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we
were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of
life” 2nd Corin. 1-8. This
month has been by far the most challenging for me spiritually. Yes, the war is visible to me in the physical
with the emptiness in the prostitute’s eyes and the hope set in idols but
something about the atmosphere here runs much deeper. There is just emptiness, an exhaustion, a
hopelessness that permeates the air. I
am learning to say NO to the death the enemy places on me. I am alive in Christ and I am choosing to
remain under His shield of protection. I
do whatever I can to gain ground, and hold tight to the ground I have. I worship, pray, and read the Word more than
I ever have.
This
month I have been learning to fight back.
As a daughter of the King I am here to claim back His territory. I will not lay my life down to the despair of
this world. As challenging as this month
has been I count it joy to be chosen for this battle. 2nd Corin 1-9-10 goes on to say “indeed,
we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in
ourselves, but in God who raises the dead…He will yet deliver us.”
The
devil wants us to be oblivious to the war that is raging. His first strategy of attack is to break down
the front line warriors. As Christians
we are all called to battle. We are to
stand against injustice, to bring hope and love. Let us not be deceived by the schemes of the
enemy. There is so much ground to
cover. There are so many people in need
of love and truth. Many Christians are
blinded by the enemy to the authority that we have over him. But we are all given this authority!
Please
email me [email protected] if you
feel you don’t know where to begin in this battle. Or if you have never experienced this hope and
love. I would love to encourage you and
share my testimony.
Is it really not noticeable or are we choosing not to see?
