Satan. Also known as the enemy of God, the devil, beelzebub, father of temptation, tormenter, accuser, father of lies….the list could go on i’m sure.
Last week I had the pleasure of visiting a boarding school for girls with a group of women from Quail to minister there for four days. It was such an amazing experience. I felt isolated, tired, hungry, frustrated, important, empowered, honored, and humbled. All of those emotions in a matter of four days. On the third morning there I was unable to get out of bed. I had no energy and felt like I had been drugged. All I wanted to do was sleep. So I did. I missed breakfast (a prime time to eat with the girls and get to know them) and when I was finally able to get out of bed it felt like I had been hit in the head with a 2X4. As the day progressed by mood did not improve. I prayed, begged, and pleaded but nothing. I was in a fog all day. I had been given the opportunity to lead worship that night with one of the girls who just so happened to be a worship leader. We were supposed to meet to pick a few songs and practice. Now, mind you I had only met this girl one day before hand. So we were supposed to sit down and have this incredible jam sesh before leading a group of generally disagreeable teenage girls in worship…..umm ok? So I tried to connect with her and it did not happen. Our timing was off and it just didn’t look like it was going to happen. Then I walked into the dining hall and saw her guitar sitting on the chair and then I met her gaze and she was beaming with excitement. She called me over and asked what songs I wanted to sing. We agreed on a couple of songs and after dinner we sat outside and worshiped God. We didn’t practice we worshiped. God was teaching me to let go. In the midst of all the frustration and confusion God said “let go and let me work” so I let go as best as I could for a brief 15 minutes, I let go of everything that I was thinking and feeling and I sang and I listened to a room full of teenage girls let go too. They sang with passion and with confidence in the Holy Spirit. I was so moved. Their little sweet voices sang “Holy Spirit you are welcome here, come flood this place and fill the atmosphere…” That morning Satan the king of lies, the master of confusion, and the artful tormenter tried to constrict me to my bed. He tired to keep me from worship, from experiencing the fullness of God. God had other plans. His plan was to free me from constriction and show me what freedom was like.
