It's not because I don't believe there are dark spiritual forces at work in the world, or that I don't think Satan IS seeking to kill and destroy, or because I don't believe there is power in evil forces.
We see the truth of spiritual warfare daily, and the Word says we daily need the full armor of God. In Haiti, in the lives of our friends and family and home country, in the world.
I don't talk about it much because, one, I don't allow myself to focus on dark, but on the Light that overcomes it. And two, I think Satan is given far too much credit by well-meaning believers.
How often do we hear of burdens God has perhaps allowed for His plans and purposes, everyday challenges, lack of planning, consequences of sin, unwise behavior, selfish ambition, and human-emotions-led decisions credited to Satan attacking!
We can easily fall into the trap of looking for where Satan is at work...looking at the darkness, looking at the sin culture, looking at spiritual lostness, looking at voodoo in Haiti, pointing and blaming...and we become overwhelmed, fearful, and overcome by it. Focusing on darkness at work tends to lead to darkness at work.
Oh, how God lifts and encourages and strengthens our hearts when we focus in every situation on where HE is at work and on what HE is doing, on His truths, His perspectives, His faithfulness!
As such, I always work to be slow to give Satan credit and quicker to examine my own heart and process and to trust the Lord, regardless.
I have shared recently quite a few freedoms that the Lord has been clearly extending and drawing my attention to lately, and claiming a few for Matt as we begin a new school year.
Freedom from guilt for not being able to fix everything for everyone, freedom from ridiculous expectations on myself, freedom from wanting to do it all for every person, freedom to be mentally, emotionally, spiritually healthier.
For Matt, I've been praying freedom from carrying the weight of all of Emmaus, putting her on the shoulders of our Mighty God. Freedom to rest mentally and to carry His peace. Freedom to do his best and what he can and to let go of what he can't.
I've been praying them, spending extra time with the Lord and in His Word, setting up accountability to pursue them, deliberately identifying where mental and emotional ties need to be broken, praying heavily for the release of these not-from-God burdens of guilt and super-human responsibility.
And I even convinced Matt to tack a few days onto board meetings just to pursue this freedom and rest and time with the Lord, and be came home Saturday ready to get to work, visibly transformed. We RESTED together on those freedoms on Sunday and were so thankful for His desire for us to BE free people.
So Monday morning, early, a major need of Emmaus (like $10,000 major) that we thought was totally taken care of, covered and off our plates became NOT taken care of and off our plates. School starts in one week, and suddenly, this major blessing became a major burden. I could physically see heaviness pile onto Matt's head and shoulders...what was he going to do? How in the world did this happen? Where in the world was that money going to come from? He headed off to work immediately, anxious and overwhelmed. How was he going to fix this??
The moment he got to his office he got an email from a staff member responsible for preparing all of the orientation training and activities for next week, saying that he couldn't be at work this week.
Huge new burden...lots of burdens...shovel. Matt's head and heart.
He had to come home at nine to take the girls to their first day of testing. Two miles away, twenty minutes of bumping and rolling through the huge craters that far more resemble the surface of the moon than a road, and the front hood starts leaking smoke. By the time he got them there, the whole engine was POURING smoke, all the controls were frozen.
Loooonnnngggg before his borrowed truck was hit by a motorcycle that same Monday evening (I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP) on the way to teaching Bible study down the road, Matt was so crippled by burden and frustration and concern and helplessness that ALL previous rest and freedom was gone, gone like it had never been there gone.
I immediately jumped to wanting to fix it all. To feeling responsible and burdened and sorry and wanting to take all the burdens from him and somehow turn them into blessings and somehow give him peace and rest and do all the things I CAN'T and then feeling badly that I couldn't!
Honestly, I never thought once about our battle on Monday as being not against flesh and blood. Money, cars, co-workers, roads...it all felt very physical. I gave up my freedoms as quickly as Matt did and together we were bound right back up in me trying to fix it and Matt trying to carry it. Gone like the freedom had never been there gone.
It wasn't until I was listening to a message from a praying friend on Tuesday that I remembered what a battlefield we each live in. Stace, she reflected. It's a big deal that you've been seeking and pursing the freedom God has for us. When we're letting go of strongholds and embracing His freedom, Satan is going to work against that!
Satan is working against what God is working ON.
Something about recognizing that clicked. We got tripped up on Monday, and I got so quickly distracted from the freedom I was finding. We hit some low places and I got distracted from what HE can do in and through them, if I can be faithful to what He's working on in me.
I'm sharing all this because I want to encourage you and help fortify your faith, as praying people always encouraging and fortifying mine.
THIS IS NO wimp battle, family, no test without fire. We SHOULD be careful not to focus on Satan or to fear him. But recognizing and expecting this life in Christ to be a battle, expecting that Satan is working against what God is working on in our lives, that matters.
Knowing Satan will use any distracting opportunity to bind us back up like we were never free in Christ to begin with enables us to truly see the distraction and fight against it instead. To reinforce the armor He's given us. To be asking for mighty, transforming prayers. To fight for what God's doing, actively, with courage and faith, in EVERY circumstance, TODAY.
We can't fight battles we're not prepared for.
Dozens of young men and women are moving back to Emmaus this weekend. Haven't you heard, there's a battle in Haiti for the lost, a battle for the blind, a battle for His precious creation, and we're IN it. Pray for us all.
I praise the Lord for returning us to true freedom in Him after Monday, for encouraging and renewing our hearts to carry on with what He is doing, and for the painful and powerful reminder to stay alert and watch out for your great enemy, the devil. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. 1 Peter 5:8.
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