One Woman's Faith

Our walk was nothing out of the ordinary. At dusk, we bundled up in coats and ‘boggins, slipped our gloves on to stay warm and off we went. We chatted about the day, what curtains to buy, what happened at school, how work was, all while our feet made the rhythmic swish-swap, swish-swap sound on the pavement. As we rounded the familiar corner, the menacing bark echoed through the fence and startled me. I jumped, and my pace quickened sending me sideways. My husband let out an inquisitive sort of laugh and said, “Babe, you know that dog is there, he barks every time we pass this way. Why did you jump?” But, the next few words my partner sent my way were what got me to thinking. He chided, “You know It’s coming.” 

You.

Know.

It’s.

Coming.

He was right, I did know the dog was there. Yet, it startled me because I was focused on the rhythm of my walk and had forgotten he would be hiding behind the fence. The entire event took place in under 60 seconds, but it took my heart almost triple that to calm down to a steady beat. Now, you may be asking, “Yea, ok, we get it Tonya – the dog scared you. So what does that have to do with anything?” Here it is…

I.

Know.

It’s.

Coming.

I know my enemy is a hunter chasing to kill my faith. He is a thief in pursuit of my peace. And he is certainly the warrior seeking to destroy my walk with God. Yet even though I know all of this, I forget. I neglect to be vigilant and sober, realizing in every ordinary moment, the enemy of my soul is consistently lurking behind the old familiar fences.

His gritty bark is sinister enough to make me fear his bite more than I trust my Protector. My heart trembles and I go stumbling sideways into fear, panic, doubt, and sin.

Thankfully, because our loving Creator is gracious, and divinely knows the whole sum of His creation, He is quick to remind me His hedge of unbroken vigilance around me is stronger than the enemy’s bark and bite.

No weapon formed against me shall prosper.

He that is within me is greater than he that is within the world. 

In his powerful book, The Red Sea Rules, author Robert Morgan admonishes every believer to acknowledge the enemy but keep their eyes on the Lord. Even though it often takes me more than a few minutes to be still and return to what my soul knows well, the truths are the same nevertheless.

My Savior is always steady and true. He is the Captain of my peace. My Father is ever faithful and strong. He is the Keeper of my soul. The Holy Spirit is wisdom and truth. He is the Counselor of my heart.

The Holy Sprit fervently challenges us to believe, to trust, the Lord’s providential hand is for our good. He knows what subtle evil skulks about – nothing catches Him off-guard.  Being confident that His mighty arms will keep us intact as the foe wages war is to welcome the presence of God’s power into our lives. I know it’s coming.