It was almost 6:30 a.m. when I realized I had 5 missed calls from my husband. It was Sunday so he should’ve been close to the Church already – except he wasn’t. I had 1 un-read text message saying, “Coolant is leaking, I’m coming back.”
Why is this happening today, God?
I found myself growing anxious and frustrated over our car troubles, nearly letting it overshadow the significance of the day – our kids were getting baptized.
I walked to the kitchen and took a deep breath as I began to make coffee. Thank goodness my Mom was here visiting so we could take her car.
This is not going to ruin our day!
And, it was a sweet day, until later that night when reality sunk in, we only had 1 working car.
What are we going to do?
How can we go to work?
Is this fixable?
Should we buy a new car?
How can we trade this car in the current condition?
All of these decisions were weighing on us and before we knew it, we started arguing about what to do.
That’s when it hit me, we were in a spiritual battle.
Satan was doing all he could to not let our kids get baptized, and it started the week before when Taya fell and got a concussion.
But he failed to see – He’s tried to take out our family before and it didn’t work.
“Simon, stay on your toes. Satan has tried his best to separate all of you from me, like chaff from wheat. Simon, I’ve prayed for you in particular that you not give in or give out.” (Luke 22:31 MSG)
Chaff is the dry, useless outer husk of grain that is removed during the threshing process, while wheat is the valuable, nourishing part.
Satan thought we were Chaff, but our family is Wheat!
God’s already made his permanent home in our hearts.
I once read a quote that said, “When the roots are deep, there is no reason to fear the wind.”
Have you ever had a week that’s left you treading in water, barely catching your breath before the next bad thing happens?
You want to give up.
You want a break.
You want help!
The devil knows how to get under your skin, he knows what will set you off. Spiritual warfare is real.
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. (Ephesians 6:13 NIV)
God CAN help you. He can equip you to remain steadfast in the face of trials and spiritual attacks.
Some of you may need to hear this:
The enemy is not your family.
So, we dropped the car conversation and rejoiced in the day.
Because NOTHING could take it away.
The Devil tried to hurt my daughter, but I think he was surprised by her resilience and the power of prayer.
I think the enemy got mad when he saw the excitement on my son’s face when he climbed out of bed saying, “I’m getting baptized!”
He probably stomped his foot when the car broke down and we still found a way to church.
I’m sure he was furious when all our family showed up to witness this day and heard God’s word.
I bet he turned away when my kids were smiling and hugging each other behind the stage before they walked out to get baptized.
He must’ve rolled his eyes when my husband got to baptize our kids and tears of joy overcame us all.
When they came out of the water and everyone cheered, I’m sure he heard all of heaven rejoicing!
He shook his head when our kids said, “This is the best day ever!”
And at the end of the day, when we stopped arguing and started praying, he realized- he lost.
So, thank you, God, for letting this happen so we could show the Devil he messed with the wrong family!
To whoever is reading this – Don’t let the enemy win!
Stay alert like this, and before you know it the God of peace will come down on Satan with both feet, stomping him into the dirt. (Romans 16:20 MSG)
