Tuesday, November 7, 2023
A final word:
Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty
power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able
to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against
flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen
world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in
the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:10-12
A friend shared in our Bible Study group
about being prepared for spiritual warfare.
Her story[1] was about
how her granddaughter, Sophie, (age 13) was being spiritually-attacked at
school. A classmate of Sophie’s, who had recently arrived in this
country, decided Sophie was something of a threat to her popularity and began a
campaign to pull her down with public remarks that were unkind and false.
This was compounded by texts to many of Sophie's classmates, which were harsh
enough to be classified as evil. Sophie acted with a spiritual maturity
that is normally absent in one so young.
Still, she was devastated by the
attack, not understanding how the other girl could be so mean. She attempted to reason with the other girl
and her peers, but was ridiculed even more. Finally it was brought to the
school's administrator and the counselor began the process of mediating.
The connection with spiritual warfare
and being a servant of God is the Godly advice my friend gave to her teenage
granddaughter. She reminded Sophie that,
as followers of Jesus, their responsibility towards this other girl was to love
like Jesus loved. That girl had overcome much in her long journey to be
in their community and was in an unfamiliar culture. It is natural to
want to protect what connection with solid ground you may have when you feel
threatened or unprepared for what may come. She advised Sophie to
remember that God may have great things in store for that one who was treating
her badly, and this was Sophie's opportunity to cooperate with God's will in
showing kindness in the face of the other girl's abuse. Sophie could turn
out to be the key to changing that girl's whole life, and the lives of
thousands she may touch in the future.
What Godly advice from Grandma.
This is the meaning of caring for your little ones, teaching them how to
navigate the evil waters of spiritual warfare, by putting on the full armor of
God, which (in this case especially) required the forbearance of a stranger’s
attack!
For You Today
You may be a parent, grandparent, or
even a great-grandparent. Following my friend’s
example of choosing to be kind, forbearing anger and retaliation, in favor of being
spiritually-mature, and loving as Jesus loved…well, it’s not easy…but it is the
fruit of a prayer warrior – prepared to do battle with the spirit of this age.
It’s what followers of Jesus do when
their feet hit the rocky road each day.
There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons
in the Rocky Road library.
Today’s title Image from Pixabay.com
Images without citation are in public domain or cited
via weblinks.
Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT©
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