I’ve been thinking about sacrifice. And persecution. And demonic spirits. Yeah. Happy place, my thoughts lately. ha. Anywho, there was this lady who is a missionary in India who came and spoke to us. Her grandfather was a Hindu priest worshipping many gods before a missionary “showed him the one true God worthy to be worshiped.” She was telling us these crazy stories about how she has seen with her own eyes demons and possessions and exorcisms. She described these things to us and our eyes were wide. The American in me dismissed these things as silly and assumed she was simply overreaching to something that had a rational explanation. But the spark inside of me who knows the stories of the New Testament realized that her stories sounded more like the world Jesus walked in than I’d ever heard before. My roommates and I sat together afterwards talking about all of these things and discussing different stories we’ve heard on the subject. Terrifying, let me tell ya. Why don’t we have those sorts of things happening here like they’re happening in the rest of the world? Not to say we’re exempt, because she told a story that was based in Pennsylvania, but in comparison, we don’t see those sorts of things. Why? The enemy works most densely in the places where God is working most densely. There are people in India who fight for their lives daily to proclaim the faith, and there are those who fight with everything they have against the Christians. There is real devil worship and witchcraft. And there is a daily battle between light and darkness in each person’s lives. And I’m worried about which shoes match my outfit best. Ha. I don’t see the movement of Satan as strongly in my life because I am of no threat to him as I am now, immersed and comfortable in my middle-class American world. Puh. I like this world, though. It’s not as scary as the other world. But it’s also seems less real, when I think about it. Like I’m wandering around on a stage with a fantastic set and a whole lotta props. But, oh, how scary the other world seems. The one where angels appear and armies on horseback mount the hilltops (Bible references, yo). In my New Testament class, though, we talked about how the demons HAD to obey what Jesus said, and they feared Him. I serve the higher power and the ultimate goodness. But that still isn’t a vaccination against evil. I will encounter it.
I feel like God is preparing me for something kind of radical, if I’m willing. I pray that when the time comes, I will be. I am a coward, but God has not given us a spirit of timidity or fear. I am weak, but in my weakness He will be made strong. I don’t know what’s going on, but I will continue to shuffle my feet forward. And may I be wrapped in light, because darkness is coming.
