Thursday, July 9, 2009

Joining the Fight

For all you faithful readers out there I apologize for my absence.  I know it must have been a struggle waiting on my next post.  Well wait no more my friends cause here it is. 

I returned from camp a couple weeks ago after another amazing week.  Camp never fails to be possibly my favorite week of the year.  I have days that are better but not whole weeks.  The theme this year was spiritual warfare.  It’s a subject which I believe does not receive enough attention in our church classes and sermons.  This is because when you actually stop to think about what spiritual warfare entails, it’s pretty scary.  If you believe in Satan, which I do, then it stands to reason that he has demons working for him as well as angels working against him.  You know that old trick you see on TV with the angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other whispering into your ear?  Perhaps that’s not to far off from reality, although real demons are whole lot scarier.  We’ve all heard stories of demon possession in other countries and I can even say I believe I’ve witnessed it.  Witnessing a demon take control of someone’s mind is a humbling experience.  The incredible power of it makes you realize how weak we are in comparison.  When I stop to think about it the only thing that keeps me from quaking is to know that if demons are this powerful, how much more power do God’s angels wield?  It’s a battle that is fought everyday and it is comforting to know we have power on our side as well.  I had an interesting conversation the other night at a pub in Webster with some of my basketball buddies.  One guy said he didn’t believe in “Satan” but he believed in evil.  He said that no one makes him do sinful things, he does them on his own.  While I agree with part of this, we are definitely capable of sinning on our own, I believe Satan does his part to plant sinful desires and cravings in our minds, to whisper in our ears so to speak.  To quote one of my favorite movies The Usual Suspects “ the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn’t exist.”  Satan wants nothing more than for people to not believe in him, to discredit his power.  It makes it that much easier to do his work.  If we don’t believe in him why would we call upon the Lord for help?  I believe in spiritual warfare and think that it must be taken seriously.  But we have not been left alone in this fight.  There is true power in prayer, in calling on the Lord to guard and protect you.  And knowing I am in the middle of a fight, why would I not ask God, who is infinitely more powerful, to back me up?

No comments:

Post a Comment