It would be nice if one could reasonably take a course of action and know that everyone around you was going to be supportive and nurturing. The harsh reality of things today is that the only thing that one can know with any certainty is that life rarely goes as plan. It is far more likely that there will be the skeptics, critics, terrorists, resistors, and those clearly at war with any choice that is made! It would seem that our enemies are many and that each of our number has fallen into someone’s sights.
I find it helpful to understand the enemy. I know it can be discouraging to see the numbers, feel the touch of dirty tactics, and anticipate what is coming in the near future, yet it can also make the decisions that we face more clear and meaningful. Are we serious about the values we hold dear? Is it about the way and reasons we do things and not about the results? Will we preserve to the end, letting life test our endurance and commitment with resolute passion?
I wish that the attacks were unique, they are not. The cold facts are that “helpless with rage, the Dragon [Evil] raged at the Woman [God], then went off to make war with the rest of her children [you and I], the children who keep God’s commands and hold firm to the witness of Jesus.” (Revelation 12.17)
The war that we find ourselves in is much bigger than we can imagine. We face opposition that is serious, obsessed, and deadly. Ignore them are the risk of one’s life and relationships. Tactics are ruthless and relentless. Nothing is out of bounds or reasonable. I am not trying to be alarmist, just real.
Understanding that we are marked in the enemy’s sights can be discouraging. This reality doesn’t need to overwhelm the other fact that I often lose. God has already won the high ground. You and I can be on God’s side. Victory is here. We are in God’s sights. It starts with our choice.
