Trials, Trust, and Triumph: Battling Satan’s Flaming Arrows

Trials, Trust, and Triumph

Battling Satan’s Flaming Arrows

For the past year or so, I have been feeling convicted that I should read the Bible start to finish.  While I have read most of the Bible, I have not read it in its entirety, from beginning to end.  So I decided to delve in and do it without stalling out or skipping over Leviticus and Numbers.  I believe that EVERYTHING we “put into” ourselves, will take sprout, regardless of the kind of seed.  If we see something on tv or the computer we shouldn’t – it plants a seed that WILL develop and grow, but by contrast, if we live in God’s word on a daily basis – it also plants a seed that WILL develop and grow.  So I have become a picky gardener, attempting to select only the finest seeds to be planted.  Off goes the tv and the laptop, out comes the Word of God.  Speaking and hearing from my Lord through reading His word and through prayer is incomparably more important than checking facebook updates and watching people crash on WipeOut.

I heard a preacher on the radio warn, that once you immerse yourself in God’s Word, to be prepared, to be ready for a barrage of flaming arrows and attacks from the devil.  He had been challenged by a friend to spend 40 days in Bible reading and prayer concerning a possible upcoming mission…and in doing so, he discovered that he had “charged the gates of hell” in a manner of speaking, and opened himself for attacks from the evil one.  I thought about this.  How many times have you taken time out to pray or read His Word only to have the phone ring or a child come crying?  Of course Satan does not want us to read our Bibles – the more we read them, the more our eyes are opened by the Holy Spirit, and the more our eyes are opened, the less apathetic we

become.  And there’s nothing that Satan loves more than an apathetic, uncaring “Christian,” who lives by that name only, and not by action.  He does not need to battle individuals who live in sin and evil – they are already on his side, whether they know it or not – but his real battles are within the Church and those who call themselves Christians.  He wants to snatch us from God’s hands.  I also know that I serve a powerful God, who CREATED the devil, and with God on my side, I would be victorious, but I also needed to be prepared for a fight. 

So out came the Bible and highlighters, and with it, the flaming arrows and fiery darts of Satan, disguised as the trials of life.

 

Trials

The first thing that happened, literally within a week of beginning to read the Bible front to back, was that hubby lost his job.  It came as a real shock, since the last time his boss had talked to him, he complimented him on working so hard and gave him a raise.  Hubby suspected foul play, and sure enough, the supervisor’s best friend was immediately hired for the job without so much as an open job search.  I wondered, however, if Hubby had been fired for displaying any HD symptoms at work, although no one would know they were HD symptoms.  

Hubby became depressed, a little despondent and lost some of his confidence.  This made it harder for him to find a job.  He had several job offers, one within a couple hours of being laid off.  Unfortunately, most were at too low of wage or had too difficult of a work schedule (no weekends off, or work 5 am – 7 pm 6 days a week, etc) to accept.  But there were other jobs I heard him say, “I don’t think I could do that job.”  What?  This is the guy who has always been a natural at everything he does, and has always had confidence to try new things.  After a couple of weeks, he thought he found a good position, but wanted to spend the day with the boss to see if it would be a good fit for everyone all the way around.  He was scheduled to contact him on Tuesday after a 3 day weekend.

Since Monday was a holiday, we decided to spend a few hours picking beans at a local garden that raises food for the food bank.  Hubby steadily picked beans for 2 hours, and then stood to stretch.  But his back went out.  He has never had any issues with his back, but here he was, unable to walk or stand without pain.  How will he be able to work a physically demanding job the next day??  While everyone advised him NOT to call his potential boss and tell him what was going on (in case it would prevent him from hiring Hubby), he called him and told him EXACTLY what was happening.  Praise the Lord, the potential boss was impressed by his honestly and they decided to talk later in the week.

That Tuesday, I made an emergency appointment for him at a chiropractor after I dropped the kiddos off at the bus stop.  Sitting in the car, waiting for the bus to arrive and kid #2 starts crying about a sore throat and headache.  Last year, kid 2 battled multiple rounds of strep throat.  I put kid 1 on the bus and head home with kid 2.  I leave kid 2 on the couch and stuff hubby (carefully) into the car.  He could hardly get out of bed and cannot walk.  I drive him to the Dr, where I fill out all the forms and sit through his appointment with him.  

This brought on a whole new onslaught of emotions, as I wondered if this was where we were headed.  How many more Dr. appointments would I be sitting through with him?  How many times would I be whispering instructions to him as the Dr. steps out of the room?  Was this the future of my life?  Somehow, I seem to think I will be a different, stronger person in 5 years.  In five years, I will miraculously be able to handle Huntington’s rearing its ugly head and getting Hubby to and from appointments like a breeze, but not today.  I can’t handle HD yet.  I can’t.  I need more time.  The flaming arrows of Satan are finding a few cracks in my armor.  But I motor through his appointment, take him home and write down his instructions.  The fact that I have to write down his instructions reminds me that his brain isn't working correctly anymore...and I just don't know about HD.  

Kid 2 is still laying on the couch with a washrag on his head.  Praise the Lord he doesn’t have a fever.  I abandon my sick and wounded and rush to work.  I’m only 2 hours late, and I need my job!  How many more flaming arrows can I take, Lord?  I’m not sure I can handle this…but in my weakness, His strength is glorified. 

This was the week we received word that his request for unemployment benefits was denied until further review.  Kabooom!  I think that flaming arrow had a bomb on its tip.  At this point I already couldn’t buy gas to get to work or any groceries.  Great.  I consider heading to the food bank, but can’t find the time between working, running kids to school/sports/church, being a caregiver for the hubby and also helping him apply for jobs! 

Oh yes, did I mention that the credit card bill arrived?  The kids and I had just returned from our first “family vacation” (that hubby couldn’t go on because he was at work), and we trusted we could pay off the debt when we returned home.  Uuummm…no.  With the start of the school year, there were new expenses piling up as well.  I scraped up enough to get the cheapest deal on school pictures and lunch money.

  

Trust (and KNOW)

(Character of God)

I was about to give in to depression and chalk this one up to the devil, but no, nope, not gonna happen.  For greater is HE who is in ME, than he who is in the world!  Right when I was ready to throw in the towel, I heard the whispers in my heart…GOD Himself is on my side, and I could rely fully on Him.  Nice try, Satan, but you will not win.  Christ not only will win this particular battle for me, He has ALREADY won the most important battle for me.  Christ has ALREADY won!  I have victory in Jesus!  Praise the LORD!

Instead of allowing myself to fall into depression and giving up, I straightened up, put on the full armor of God, and Christ won this battle for me.  Instead of moping around and stressing out, I had overwhelming calm, peace, strength and reassurance of His love and His strength and His power and His mercy.  And I begin PRAISING God for these trials and troubles!  The more I thank Him, greatly, for this, the more I can praise Him and thank Him for a multitude of blessings in my life.

What do we know about God’s character?  We can ALWAYS trust in Him!  I know He is good and perfect.  I know that He loves me enough to die for me.  I know we will lack nothing, as He will provide for all of our needs.  He answers prayer, and He works ALL things together for the good of those who love Him!  I do not need to trust in man, or our bank account when HE is the Lord my God. (Lev 19:4)  He is my strength and my shield.  He will protect me from my enemies.  He alone is my refuge and I can place all of my trust in Him.  I need not fear, I can confidently trust the Lord to take care of me.  My cup will runneth over.  He will carry me and sustain me and rescue me!        

  

Several people have asked me how I could be calm at a time like this…it is because My God is greater than the troubles of this world, and He gives me strength and peace, and as long as we trust in Him, and trust in the truth we know of Him and His character, we have nothing to fear!  We know that He is true and noble, full of grace and mercy, and that He loves His children (that’s US!).  We know that He has a good and perfect will for our lives, and that He works all things together for the good of those who love Him.  So because we know HIM, we know that we will be just fine.  We have trials, but we face them with trust: trust in God and trust in God’s character, and in the end, we will triumph over our trials and the evil one.  Praise God!   Our task, is to remember this when we face the devil and his wicked ways.  We must always remember to put on the FULL armor of God…because with it, we can WIN! 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 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, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Ephesians 6:10-17

  

Triumph

I have an army of prayer warriors and fellowship of saintly, Godly women who help me stand strong.  Through them, and the Lord God, we have been able to stand firm and praise Him for His many blessings and our VICTORY over sin, death and evil!  There is so much to be thankful for!!  Hubby DID have several job offers, and he would certainly have more.  Kid 2 bounced back and was off to school the next day.  Hubby's potential new boss was greatly impressed with his honestly – it might work out for the best after all.  We have a warm home to live in and a freezer full of game meat, so while it might be hard to find something to go alongside another elk roast, we won’t starve to death by any means!  Our church’s education fund passed for another year, so our kids could continue to attend our Christian School.  I love our school so much!!  Praise the Lord, hubby was on my health insurance.  We had JUST gotten his insurance before he was laid off, and I was going to cancel his policy through my work.  Praise the Lord for giving me enough of an uneasy feeling that I never removed him from my policy.  But most importantly, I praise Him and thank Him for my salvation! That I can be called a child of God!  Oh, praise the Lord for all of His goodness!  VICTORY!

 Here is a devotional from Our Daily Bread:

Our life circumstances can change in an instant. A car crash, a fire, a diagnosis: it doesn’t take much to make us feel like we’ve gone from a life of blessing to a life filled with trials. Our Daily Bread reminds us that despite our circumstances, God deserves our gratitude:

Actor Christopher Reeve was paralyzed in a horseback riding accident in 1995. Prior to this tragedy, he had played the part of a paraplegic in a movie. In preparation, Reeve visited a rehabilitation facility. He recalled: “Every time I left that rehab center, I said, ‘Thank God that’s not me.’” After his accident, Reeve regretted that statement: “I was so setting myself apart from those people who were suffering without realizing that in a second that could be me.” And sadly, for him, it was.

We too may look at the troubles of others and think that it could never happen to us. Especially if our life journey has led to a measure of success, financial security, and family harmony. In a moment of vanity and self-sufficiency, King David admitted to falling into the trap of feeling invulnerable: “Now in my prosperity I said, ‘I shall never be moved’” (Ps. 30:6). But David quickly caught himself and redirected his heart away from self-sufficiency. He remembered that he had known adversity in the past and God had delivered him: “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing” (v.11).

Are you going through a time of trial or a time of blessing? How have you expressed gratitude and trust to God despite your circumstances?