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The World at War
Posted by Strider in Baptist Life, Church & Missions
In the lower council chambers here in the halls of Minas Tirith there was a meeting. The International Council was there. The Prince Imrahil and his wife, Legolas and his wife, Gimli and a few others were in attendance. Before the council started Legolas’ wife came to me and ask if we could discuss team unity. I thought that was a good topic of discussion and admittedly we had been working separately quite a bit lately. Not a terrible thing but obviously we wanted to support each other as much as possible.
The meeting began amicably enough and we discussed a few mundane things that one seemingly must discuss in meetings like this even though everyone knows there is no eternal value or significance to any of it. Then I brought up the topic of unity. I invited Legalos’ wife to speak to the several ideas she had that would help us work together better. She began to lay out the problem that we all had good ministries going on but that very few of these overlapped. We were all working separately and needed to take steps to support each other.
The Prince was the first to speak. He challenged Legalos and his wife to see that they were in fact the ones separating from the rest of us. Then Legalos responded, then his wife, then the Prince, then the Prince’s wife. Each was saying things to try and hurt the other. It escalated in a matter of a minute or two. I started to intercede when one of the volleys meant for Legalos’ wife hit me. I was stunned. I sat there thinking, ‘I know he did not mean to insult me, but I am insulted.’ I knew then that this was an attack from the evil one- and a mean one at that. I sat there reeling in anger and confusion. I knew it was not real but I couldn’t say anything. The ‘discussion’ escalated. I looked over at Gimli. He was sitting quietly with his eyes closed and his head bowed and resting on one hand. I knew he was praying for Jesus to retake control. I knew he was praying for me.
I sat forward with my elbows on my knees and with a HUGE effort I called out, “STOP.” “None of you have intended this. None of you have wanted to hurt each other. This is not from you. Let’s pray.” And then we prayed and then I ended the meeting. People went up to each other and offered quick apologies. Several made efforts over the next couple of days to make sure relationships were right. I was exhausted. I felt like I had just sprinted five miles. If you want to know the truth, I was tired- bone weary tired- the whole next day.
The enemy is at work among us. He wants to break our relationships. One of the slogans we have on our team is: When there is division and we don’t know the cause, then we KNOW the cause. We are those who have gone out to teach and too often we are totally ignorant of the spiritual warfare that rages around us. It is time to wake up. SBCImpact is a blog about SBC issues so some of you may think that I am speaking of one issue or another. I am not. I am speaking to the spiritual warfare that you face with your spouse, your kids, in your church fellowship, and beyond. Guard your hearts and minds because the roaring lion is seeking whom he may devour and too often he is using the mouths of fellow followers of Jesus to do the devouring.
So, for your meditation today, what was it that we faced that day?
Have you faced it before? And more importantly, are you ready to face it again?
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Autonomy.
Part of the temptation in the Garden was that we would be like gods, knowing good and evil. We all want what we want. Unity is found in all of us wanting what God wants.
Jesus told those who would have the highest positions that they are found in the lowest areas of service. How many of us aspire to be everyone’s slave?
Hmmm… I seem to have missed something. Who is Autonomy and what comment was there that Rick is replying to?
Personally, I aspire to son-ship. Of course, to do that I need to be everyone’s slave.
Someone asked the following question:
So, for your meditation today, what was it that we faced that day?
The words made sense in my head when I wrote them.
I am with you now! I was reading “Autonomy” as someone you were addressing. Sorry to be so thick!
Strider, like you I cannot give many details. But I have been dealing with a situation in my life in which evil seemed to be abounding. I was frustrated and discouraged. But I began praying against the lies of the Evil One who was deceiving this person’s emotions and thinking and just asking God to take authority of this believer’s mind (and to guard my heart). It is amazing how God has worked in the last couple of days.
I’m not one who sees Satan behind every bush or tree, but I think sometimes we fail by NOT seeing that Satan is at work.
This was a good word, my friend.
I used to say that I don’t ‘see Satan behind every bush or tree’ but I have been changing my mind over the years. Jesus was not tempted in the wilderness by an errant nature, he was tempted by Satan. He responded to Satan with the Word of God and He overcame. When we attribute all our dysfunctions to our own sinful natures then the answer is obvious that we should try harder, we should do better, it is all about us. But what if it isn’t? If the enemy is really there (we wrestle against principalities and powers- what are they exactly?) then we need to take the fight to him and not to each other as we usually do. Jesus came to set us free. We can love each other well because he has made us able to do so. If we don’t love each other well then maybe we are agreeing with a lying spirit whom we have given control over our lives. If that is the case then we need to ask Jesus to set us free, we will not be able to set ourselves free by trying harder.
I think our greatest danger is in NOT believing that Satan resides behind every bush. Even though we make choices which have consequences, we are tempted by the evil one to make those choices, and every choice comes down to who will be boss of my life.