Secret Weapons

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1 Peter 5:8
“Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” - NIV

Recently, in church and during my mentoring dinners, the topic of spiritual warfare has been popular. If you are anything like me, when you envision spiritual warfare, your mind wanders to cosmic forces that are almost too big to even think about. The elements of good and evil waging battle for our souls…um…not something that fills my thought process. Yes, the war rages on. Yes, the war is eternal. Yes, the war is big. Nevertheless, let us not forget, the weapons of evil could be quite small.

In my case, Satan’s weapon of choice was a dingy, frayed, raggedy old chair. Prior to starting this blog, my quite time with God used to be over my 1-hour lunch break. I would ride to the Barnes & Noble next to my office, find a chair, and just read His Word and pray. As hard as it has always been for me to remain consistent in my reading/journaling, this time had been different. I had found a system that worked for me. My reading was great, journaling was steady and my relationship with God was becoming more intimate.

One day, upon arriving at the bookstore, I looked around and noticed there was nowhere for me to sit. All of the chairs were taken. The next day, the same. The day after that, still no room. I didn’t understand it. I had been coming here for weeks with no hint of disturbance, and now, there was no room for me. And what was the result of this interruption: I lapsed on my time with God and read People magazines instead. Slowly, one day became seven. A week became weeks. Weeks became months.

Satan had been victorious. He had messed with my “system” until I just gave up. I quit reading. I quit praying. I quit going to Barnes & Noble. I forfeited my time with God because of a chair. Looking back, it becomes clear: The devil knew my weakness. He knew that I was a planner, and when things don’t go as planned, I cannot adjust.

The weapon against me was not violent. The weapon against me was not scary. The weapon against me, was me.