The Enemy Roars

It was a beautiful morning. My daughter and I stepped out the door to be greeted by a fall breeze and a touch of sunshine. The air smelt fresh and the leaves were finally falling from the trees. We both were in awe as we started the walk to our car.
When we reached the spot on the sidewalk near the very active bee hive in the ivy, our perspective changed a bit. We covered our heads and moved quickly to the car. Just a few days before a bee from the nest had landed in Sarrah’s hair and stung her finger as she fought to get it out. It was not the best experience for us and we had learned to cover and move fast.
As soon as we were safe in the car and relieved none of the enemies, (Mr. Bee) didn’t sting us, we started to enjoy the beauty of the morning again. I mean it was an incredible fall day. Leaves in the colors of red, orange, and yellow hung on the trees, some of them had fallen to the ground and lined the streets. And the air was nice and crisp.
We didn’t stop talking about it until I dropped her off at her classroom door. We kissed goodbye and I walked off enjoying this wonderful start to the day.
Upon returning home, my smile turned to a frown when I noticed the bees were getting a bit more aggressive. I called the exterminator. After I described what was happening with these bees, he let me know we had a ground cover hornet’s nest. Hornets are very protective of their territory. He would be out the next day.
Later that day, after picking up Sarrah from school, we were looking forward to going on a bike ride, but instead we were surprised to discover the exterminator showed up a day early. He stood in our yard dressed in protective clothing should any of the hornets decided to attack. He also used other tools to get rid of the nest.
He instructed us to come back in about half an hour. With a warning - toward evening time, the returning hornets would be angry when they discovered their nest had been messed with, so we were to stay inside and not go out for the remainder of the day.
Well, there went our bike ride and we weren’t able to finish the rest of the afternoon enjoying the weather. Our plans had been interrupted by the enemy.
Isn’t that the way life can be? Filled with interruptions? It can be so frustrating. I’m not talking about the things we bring on our self, but the things that somehow just seem to step into a person’s life and mess it up.
The Bible says, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brother throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
But just like the exterminator had special clothes to put on to protect himself, so do we as followers of Jesus Christ to protect us from the enemy.
When Paul wrote to the Ephesians while he was under house arrest for preaching the gospel, he used the description of the uniform the guards wore.
10 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes…13 Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
Just like the exterminator knew how to put on his covering and use his equipment, it’s important for us as followers of Jesus, to know how to put on our armor and use the weapons given to us. It’s also important to put each article of clothing on to protect you during the day.
It doesn’t mean the attacks won’t come, because they do. It means a person is prepared for the attacks.
Some attacks can be so harsh. Isn’t it worth the time spent reading the Word of God and in prayer?
Charles Stanley was the pastor who led me to the Lord. He explains putting on the full armor of God very well. Here is a link to his website.  http://www.intouch.org/magazine/content/topic/dressed_for_battle

Bible verses from 1 Peter 5:8 and Ephesians 6: 10-11 and 13 – 17

Comments

Sylvia said…
Excellently written, Linda. Thank you for the reminder to daily put on the armor of God. Hugs
November 14, 2011 at 8:42 AM
Janalyn Voigt, escape into creative worlds of fiction. said…
So true, Linda. I've learned to walk to my "car" with care and to be prepared. Thanks for the reminder.
November 14, 2011 at 2:38 PM
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