On the last day of Launch in Chicago, we, as a group of 300-400 World Racers, prepared for one last night in America. We sat down to hear one last moving “sermon” to propel us onto this journey of a lifetime that we would be encountering this next year of our lives. Among the crowd was one World Racer who needed to be equipped with some serious Godly weapons as she went off on this adventure. That racer was me.
I was in need of not just the Armor of God that is talked about in Ephesians 6:10-20. I needed a weapon to ward of the spiritual enemy who plagues my life through attacking my mind. Little did I know that God was going to bring me that weapon to fight the enemy in my mind actually through my mind.
The speaker asked all 300 or so of us to stand up in this tiny room we were huddled into. He asked us to turn around and stand shoulder to shoulder with the people around us. (It wasn’t that hard because the room wasn’t any bigger than a common unfinished basement.) As we stood in lines, he asked us to close our eyes. He led us into something like this:
(You can try to do this as well…you may have to picture it with your eyes open because you have to read it though)
I will also include some of my thoughts that went on during this time.
Picture yourself standing shoulder to shoulder as the army of God. You are facing the enemy. You see them coming to fight you and the army you are standing with. You know that you are outnumbered. I saw them coming in flanks. I saw them rolling over hills. I knew we were defeated. As the enemy continues to come closer to fight, pick out one of them. Choose one of the enemy fighters to put all your attention on. I found my guy. I picked him out. He was really tall and ugly. He was charging our army. He wasn’t directly in front of me. I had to move to be facing front to him. He looked like some creature I had never seen before. He was gnarly looking in the face. He has weapons of all kinds. Once you have your guy, think of all the things you will do to him. Think of how even though you are outnumbered, you WILL take down THIS one guy. You will defeat him and the few around him. You will not stop because the numbers are growing. I kept looking at my guy. I immediately thought of those scenes out of 500 and Braveheart where one solider charges a group to fight to the death. The scene slows down to show one fighter taking down each of his opponents slowly with swift, smooth, thought through moves. I not only thought about those scenes; I was that scene. I took my guy down. I went in with an attack on the tallest, ugliest, meanest enemy. I didn’t stop at him, I got him and a few close buddies. Oh but…The speaker stopped me in my juvenile thoughts.
Before you charge into the battle, take your eyes off of the enemy. Look right above his head. What do you see? I saw Jesus. I saw Jesus hanging above this nasty enemy. Jesus was holding a bowling ball too. Do you see him? Do you see Jesus above the enemy? That enemy doesn’t know that Jesus is above him. He can’t see what you can see. Jesus looks at you and gives you a wink. He has got your back. He will fight for you. I rested in that moment. I received that wink from Jesus. I breathed deeply in the presence of a God who would fight for me. Now that you know Jesus will defeat this enemy. Without making a noise, praise Jesus. Praise him in the depth of your being. I started to praise God. I didn’t know what it looked like to praise God without making a noise. But then it happened. The inside of my body cleared out to be an empty chasm where a little mini-me was dancing, praising, yelling, screaming praise to Jesus. It was happening. I was worshipping Jesus with all that I am without it even showing on the outside. Now worship with everything you have but show that enemy. Dance, scream, sing, praise Jesus in the face of your enemy. I began to praise Jesus relentlessly. Praising from the top of my head to the bottoms of my toes. I praised! I praised my God for what? I praised him for defeating that enemy even before he defeated him. I praise him for the wink that I knew a good God protected me. I praise him for being in that battle with me, but more importantly for me. I praised him for winning! Do you see that? What is the enemy doing?
My enemy was looking around, up and down, all around. He was confused. The enemy is confused. The enemy doesn’t understand why you are praising, singing, dancing. He doesn’t see the power of defeat lingering above his head. Just then that enemy looks up. I see it in my head. He saw my God above him. He knew that defeat was done. He has no more grounds to come after me. The enemy sees God. He sees that you have a greater power fighting for you. Now look at him run! He is running from defeat. I see the enemy running for the hills. He is gone. Jesus didn’t even need to use the bowling ball. The heals of his feet are flying in the opposite direction. The enemy is defeated.
This image became my weapon that I confidently walked into the first days of the race carrying proudly. The battle has already been won-but now I can see it. Now I know why the battle is won. I won the battle with my praise! I won the battle because I was praising my Jesus for already winning it! When that evil one saw what he had coming for him, he ran. I danced in joyful praise of Jesus, which brought me to a victory over the evil one. Jesus has gone before me and won my battles. Jesus goes with me, with a bowling ball or not, and wins every battle. All I need to do is stand in praise of his name!
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
