As you know, I’m no student of end time prophecy, but it sure seems like the war between good and evil (between God and our enemy) is really ramping up lately. From all of the violence and conflict on the news, to the personal battles my Christian friends and I are struggling with, it is just one thing after another with which we must deal. Could it be that Satan realizes his time is getting short?
On a personal note, early Friday morning I booted up my laptop to check my emails and do some online work for the association I work for from home. During the boot up process the screen went black. The power light was on but I couldn’t get any response no matter what I tried. Panic set in as I thought about all of the information I could no longer access and how I would not be able to continue writing my blog. A friend was picking me up shortly to take me to the VA clinic for a blood work up; so I prayed for help and left it in God’s hands. When we returned, I just idly reached for the power button and the laptop came to life booting up without a problem. I spent the next few hours catching up my work and praising God for His tech support. My Christian friends have had mechanical car trouble, physical aches and pains, and stressful encounters with doctors, nurses and insurance companies. Our prayers have resulted in many praise reports as God answers and grants us His peace.
In times like this, the scripture I lean on is Philippians 4:6. “Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” Whether it is a friend or me with worries, following that advice from the Apostle Paul always provides praise reports and peace of mind. Have you noticed that as troubles increase in your life and the lives of your Christian friends or family, the power of God also increases in your lives and praise reports come much more frequently?
It is no surprise that Christians are under attack throughout the world. I’m reminded of a story I read about a Christian and an atheist walking down a lane together. Satan suddenly appeared on the path ahead of them. The atheist hid behind the Christian and begged him to protect him from Satan. The Christian calmly replied, “He already has you. He is trying to come after me.” The enemy can TRY to trip us up or distract us with worry or fear, but he can never defeat us. The power in us is much more powerful than the power in the world. All we have to do is release it through our prayers of petition and praise.