WE SUDDENLY find ourselves in Tornado Alley! Just an hour ago we passed through gently rolling hills beneath a warm sun and clear sky. I wondered how to write about the presence of my enemies in this tranquil place where grazing cattle and hay bales dot the hillsides. However, this South Dakota highway took us straight toward an ever darkening horizon until we drove right into a storm. Now lightening flashes and torrents of rain beat against the windshield. We cautiously watch the horizon for any descending funnels. The earlier peaceful, pastoral landscape actually engages a clear and present danger. Seventeen years ago I wrote about a different kind of “tornado alley” in my journal:
Today we walked through the small downstairs duplex where we will live if we move to Anchorage. The occupant isn’t out yet and reeking ash trays of cigarette butts were stacked near the sink. Low ceilings and small basement windows felt claustrophobic. I can’t figure out how we’ll fit in there, but I’m almost too tired to care.
The Shepherd knows my thoughts, anxieties, and longings. I really don’t want to live in a rental… of any kind. I don’t want to move all our stuff or leave stuff behind. I don’t want to use our equity on moving expenses. Yet, If we don’t move here, I cringe at infringing on relatives in the lower “48” until we find jobs. Such fears lay hold of me! For all my prayers, logic, and talking, I cannot motivate my husband to make a decision. I realize we’ll need some miracles if the Shepherd wants us in Alaska.
I pour out my heart asking Him to refill it with Himself and His Word so the enemy will find no resting place here. Surely he seeks to devour us from the shadows of an unknown future. Knowing the future is hidden from us, he takes full advantage of our limitations. From the paint box of our own vivid imaginations, he conjures up scenarios of what could happen and brushes in human logic and reasoning. Soon he convinces us of a fierce reality before us. Doubt replaces trust. Fear replaces faith. Panic replaces truth. We begin to speak and act out of unbelief and fear, quenching and grieving His sweet and tender Holy Spirit.
The Shepherd calls us to repentance. We come to His light. We pray to overcome. What glorious promises for those who overcome! He is the Truth. In Him we find a peaceful and bright reality. He is the God of joyful expectation and He fills us with joy and peace in the very presence of our enemies.
We did move into that apartment in Alaska and by God’s sweet grace it became our cozy home for ten months while God provided a job and before we could purchase a home. So many answered prayers and amazing provisions followed, as well as more trials. Yet, always He blesses us with abundance in the presence of our enemies.
The South Dakota storm passes and we drive into a humid and tranquil evening. So many times the storms of life threaten to swallow us up in fear and anxiety. Yet, in the presence of those fears, the LORD Himself remains with us and encourages us on. If we never had to face a storm we would not learn to know Him. It is when we face our greatest enemies that God reveals His love, power, and deliverance. For that we can surely praise Him!
WAR CRY
Lions roar and shadows walk,
Darkness deepens, enemies stalk,
Accuser of brothers, father of lies,
“How fierce the battle!” the warrior cries.
Then out from brazen heavens above,
God’s sweet Spirit descends like a dove;
He whispers a message in the weary one’s ear
To be strong in the LORD and not to fear.
His mighty power will help us stand
With the armor of God and His Sword in our hand;
In war not waged against man’s flesh and blood,
We fight powers of darkness we’ve not understood.
Yet God’s hand is greater if we only believe,
The shield of faith becomes our reprieve.
The breastplate of righteousness shines like the sun,
Reflecting the beauty of Jesus, God’s Son.
Then when the battlecries thunder around,
The belt of God’s truth keeps us safe, keeps us sound.
The helmet of deliverance protects our mind
From intrusive thoughts intended to blind.
We bring each scenario before Jesus alone
To bow in obedience before His great throne.
We run in obedience with shoes light and strong
With good news of peace to overcome wrong.
May we not grow weary in doing what’s right,
For the end of the battle is surely in sight.
And Jesus stands waiting to give us reward
For faithfully trusting His Holy Word.
Though lions roar and sorrows run deep,
God hears our prayers and sees us weep.
He fights for us with flashing sword,
Making us conquerors through Jesus our Lord
—MarJean S. Peters