Know The Enemy During The Pandemic
“Be
sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls
around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” – I Peter 5:8
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and
destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” – John
10:10
"Woe to the earth and the sea because the devil has
gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short" - Revelation 12:12b
Know our enemy so we can know what to
expect
And be armed
Equipped to do battle
For we are in a spiritual battle
Especially during this pandemic
For Satan is whom he is
Prowling around like a roaring lion
Seeking to steal
Kill
Destroy
And to ensnare as many as he can
For he knows his time is short
Before the pandemic
Poor communication with our
significant others
Idiosyncrasies annoying to us
Patterns of behavior of our loved
ones we did not like
During the pandemic
Communication breaks down to nil or
assumptions being made
Idiosyncrasies are blaringly irksome
to us
We find ourselves quick to assign negative
motivations to behaviors
Quarantine life makes us feel
Bored
Restless
Listless
Stifled
Pent-up
Fed-up
Angry
Walls closed in
Shut down
Depressed
Desire to isolate
To break out
To act out
To take out
our anger and frustration
This death-drive of not being able to
live normally has contributed to
Patience gone
Tempers flare
Unforgiveness rampant
We become stubborn and recalcitrant
Ready to fight to syphon off our
pent-up anger and frustration
Patience to better communicate is
gone
Peaceful protests turn into riots
Playing right into Satan’s hands and
schemes
To steal
To kill
To destroy
To turn husband and wife against one
another
To turn family members against each
other
To turn the protector into the
aggressor
To turn the powerful into the
oppressor
To turn temperance into exaggeration
To turn tolerance into hatred
To turn society into chaos
But we are not unaware of this
spiritual battle
For our struggle
is not against flesh and blood
But against the
rulers
Against the
authorities
Against the powers of this dark world
Against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms
Therefore
Put on the Full Armor
of God
So that we may be
able to stand
Stand against the
evil schemes of the Enemy
Stand together
Stand with one
another
Stand side by
side
With linked arms
Not fists
With tender
hearts toward one another
Not iron hearted
toward each other
May we go down on
our knees
In humility
In repentance
In forgiveness
To seek God’s
forgiveness for our wrongs
To forgive those
who have wronged us
To forgive
ourselves for our wrongful acts
To humble
ourselves
So that God may
lift us up
And to embrace
the “Life Drive”
To have life abundantly
Through Jesus and
what He has accomplished for us on the cross
Our punishment in
His body on the cross
Our sins forgiven
and washed
Our stains
cleansed
Death turned into
life
Life abundant
For Jesus has
come to give us
Life
Abundant life
Despite the quarantine
Despite the
circumstances around us
LIVE
Life
Fully
In Jesus
Through Jesus
BE His witness
BE His voice to speak
up against wrongs and to admit our wrongs
BE His heart to grieve
wrongs done by us and by others
BE His arms in
embracing others
BE His hands to
reach out to others
BE His feet to go
reconcile with others
BE the bridge
between all opposing parties
Starting in our
family
Then in our neighborhood
And in our community
That the Name of
Jesus might be lifted up
As a shining beacon
In this dark and
depraved world
May His Kingdom
come
May His Will be
done
On earth
As it is in
Heaven
Even in the midst
of this pandemic
Especially during
this pandemic
