Spiritual Warfare

Until recently, I felt like spiritual warfare was a way of over-spiritualizing experiences in life and the World.  It felt like people would claim spiritual warfare for a flat tire or the things that occurred to make someone late for bible study.  It felt hooky to me, but I knew there was truth to this idea of the enemy, at work against what God was trying to accomplish in my life. 

Early on in my time on church staff, some interpersonal conflicts began to impede the ministry work.  There was an unresolved tension and no real reason for these conflicts.  A wise friend/coworker gently guided me through the idea that the enemy was working in these places.  That his goal was to derail our ministry efforts and the harder we worked for the good of God, the harder the enemy would attack.  Until you feel these attacks first hand, it can feel like over-spiritualization of experiences of people giving power to the enemy for coincidences and inconveniences.  

Having the knowledge and tools to fight this spiritual battle is critical to all believers.  We are fighting a battle against an enemy, the bible makes that very clear.  Ephesians 6:11-12 states:  “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

I should not be surprised when experiencing these attacks or seeing others experiencing spiritual attacks.  I believe worship is one of our battle weapons in the fight against the enemy. I find the words of worship music can drown out the lies of the enemy or send him running.  There is a song that I love that I feel sums up the protection God has for us, the weapons we have and what we are fighting. The song by Upperroom “Surrounded” starts out by saying clearly that God has prepared us a table in the presence of our enemies, praise and thanksgiving are my weapons. It repeats over and over “When it looks like I’m surrounded, I’m surrounded by You.”  The entire song feels like a defense to the attack of the enemy and it’s true, we are not alone in these battles, we are surrounded by the Spirit of God.  

In learning more about what the enemy is trying to do in my life, directly in opposition to what God is trying to do, I felt ill equipped. Knowing the more I pursued God’s love for me and my family, the more the enemy would be aware of my weak spots and try to enter.  My marriage, my kids, the ministry work I was doing, my friendships and more are all at risk for an opening to be seen by the enemy and to have him step in.  It only takes a little space for the enemy to get into our minds. The hard part is then removing him from these spaces and places in our life.  I am by no means an expert or even remotely equipped on this topic, but have come face to face with the enemy in my life.

Most recently, I remember a few months ago 2 very dark days filled with calculated spiritual attacks.  My kids were impacted, husband, dog, my own well being and the enemy even terrorized my dreams.  These two days were draining and difficult.  I felt like my world was in a delicate balance and one more thing added to the day would send it into complete implosion.  At the end of these exhausting days of what truly felt like a battle, I knew without a doubt that God ruled supreme over all.  He is on his throne and in control.  

We could see in the days leading up to this spiritual battle that tension was building.  We began to put on the armor of God and prepare.  We have a dedicated prayer team that we email out regular prayer requests to and we immediately sent an emergency prayer email giving the details of what was going on.  Immediately people all over the US and world began praying for us.  We guarded our hearts with truth and went into these challenges with immense peace, very little fear and a lot of unknown. How would our lives look different if we called on a group of believers more often to intentionally pray over our needs, our battles and our need for strength in these times.  What would a challenging day, doctors appointments or IEP meeting feel like if all over the nation we were calling on each other to offer critical prayers on our behalf?  I have to believe it would make a huge difference on the orientation of our hearts and potentially the forces at play in our lives. 

Not every day necessitates this full on warfare, but every day has opportunities for the enemy to take hold of pieces of our life.  Keeping close to the tools that will reorient our focus will guard against any effort of spiritual attack.  Some ideas I have to combat ongoing, insidious attacks are playing and worship songs, praying out loud, establishing healthy, regular rhythms with God to remain in step with His will for my life and memorizing scripture.  Being in a practice of pruning away the things in my own life that take away from God’s glory is also important.  Once the enemy is in, it is difficult to get him out.  

I know that the enemy will use any possible place to threaten the work of God in my life. Nothing is safe from him, unless under the protection of Christ. There is another worship song that my daughter and I love that we often turn on loud by Elevation Worship, “See a Victory” . The chorus goes, “Cause my God will never fail. No, My God will never fail. I’m gonna see a victory, I'm gonna see a victory…” It goes on repeating this truth, that we WILL see a victory because God never fails. His power is perfect and stronger than any demon or Satan. Be aware of the enemy’s schemes and be ready to support those who are impacted by his evil plans. I know my family will come under attack again and hope the body of believers will circle around us in offering a protective blanket of prayer. We will remain firm in the truth that God wins, always.

Written by Naomi Brubaker

Naomi is a mom of 3 girls ages 7, 5, and 2.  Her oldest daughter is diagnosed with ADHD and a visual processing disorder.  Her family lives in Richmond Virginia where Naomi leads the special needs ministry at their church.  Her background in special education and ability to understand parents from her experiences with her daughter give her a unique perspective in her role at the church.  Naomi loves to run, sew and take walks with her husband with any free time she has. 

Father I Want To Know Thee

“Father I want to know Thee, but my coward heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from Thee the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come. Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that Thou mayest enter and dwell there without a rival. Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it, for Thyself wilt be the light of it, and there shall be no night there.” – A.W. Tozer

These are the words I wrote in the front my Bible in 2004, before heading to Africa as a missionary, a desire of mine since I was a young child. It was the sincere prayer of my heart that God be everything to me…and I thought He was. I had committed to and was joyfully living out, “God, I’m yours send me wherever you want, whenever you want me to go, and have me do whatever you plan for me” a commitment I had made in junior high.

That was before special needs entered my life. That was before two years of sleepless nights. That was before the dreams for my family and life were crushed beyond recognition or hope of repair. That was before I lost my health and before we lost our home which was such a gift and where we had built a new dream.

This week I sat in that home as we get rid of most of our things and read these words again. I’d forgotten about them in the front of that Bible, rarely used in the last many years in favor of a newer one and a different translation.

What a difference the depth of meaning these words have now nearly 16 years later. I’ve wanted God and a healthy child, God and a meaningful ministry outside my family, God and my welcoming, restorative home. None of these desires are wrong – a health child, a meaningful ministry, and lovely home.

Yet, when these things have been taken away my coward heart not only fears to give them up and bleeds at the parting (that’s called grief), but at times has felt angry at God over the rending of my wants and toys.

 There is a rending, a breaking of a dream, a shattering of something wonderful. There is brokenness. This world is cursed. It is crushed by sin. Where there is sin and brokenness, there will be pain. And I’ve learned that God weeps with me. God is a God of wholeness, creativity, beauty, love, forgiveness, holiness, and generosity. He is a God that will bring beauty out of our brokenness. When this broken world and the enemy of our soul crushes us, He desires to be our everything and for us to find our comfort and hope in Him.

Written by Sarah McGuire

When Life Is Hard

How are you doing? No, REALLY…how are you doing? Are you feeling great, energetic and looking forward to the day? Or are you feeling tired, stressed, and overwhelmed?

If I am being completely transparent,  I would have to say that I am more in the latter category. Our family is the middle of a move. This isn’t one of those moves where you are looking forward to the new possibilities (although we will get there). Due to health reasons, we are moving, leaving our dream house and property and frankly don’t know where or what we are moving to. To add a little more stress to the situation, we are losing a quarter of our income with this move and won’t be able to take most of our belongings with us.

These last couple days have been extra hard as Sarah has been packing, deciding what we can keep and can’t and grieving the loss of the home where our boys have spent the last eight years of their lives growing up.  There has been a lot of tears as we let go.

Can you relate to this?

I was reading the Bible this morning and Genesis 18 stood out to me. In this chapter, we see a very old Abraham and Sarah. The promise of God has not been fulfilled yet and his descendants do not yet number the stars. When we find Abraham, it is the hottest part of the afternoon and he is escaping the heat by relaxing in the opening of his tent. The Lord shows up in the form of three strangers and he immediately jumps up, greets them, washes their feet and asks them to stay to eat.

While eating, the Lord blesses Abraham and tells him that in a years time He will come back and Abraham and Sarah will have a son. Sarah is not there, but is in the tent listening and in her disbelief, laughs.

My tendency is to want to judge Sarah for not having faith. But let’s look at this situation through her eyes. What would you have thought if you were her? The reality is, she was old and beyond child bearing years and so was Abraham. We don’t know this but I do know people, especially people of faith, and I would almost bet that she had prayed on multiple occasions before then that they would have a child. Being childless was a disgrace in that time. She had lived years and to that point, God had not answered and provided them with a child.

God hears Sarah, and turns to Abraham and asks, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child now that I am old.’” This is the part I love, in verse 14 He asks, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

I love this because I know God is with me. I know He is in control. I love this because I know that this situation that seems overwhelming to me is not too hard for the Lord.

Is it too hard for me? Definitely, I don’t have all the answers and that’s okay. God never promised that we wouldn’t have more than we can handle. He did say that He would be with us every step of the way and we can know that nothing is too hard for Him.

Ideas For Spending Time with God in Any Stage of Life

In this life with kids with disability, everything changes; including the time, mental, and emotional energy we have as moms to put into our time getting to know God and His words to us.

There is never one “right” way to get to know God, learn about Him, and spend time with Him. There is so much freedom in that! It can look different for everyone. Not only that, what it looks like will very likely change over the years and seasons of our lives as our time and other responsibilities change.

In college, I used a set daily format, went through 2-10 verses at a time, took notes, and spent time praying for a total of around 30 minutes. On occasion, I skipped dinner or snuck away on weekends to get longer periods of uninterrupted time in stillness reading and praying.

But then there was marriage and kids and a child with a disability and medical issues. I didn’t even have two quiet minutes, let alone hours to steal away.

Maybe you’ve never read the Bible through in its entirety and are at a spot in life where that would be a perfect goal for you and would help you get to know God more. Maybe you have to sit in a therapy or doctor waiting room for a few hours per week and that would fit in beautifully. It’s an admirable and worthy goal! I’m so thankful I’ve been able to do that many times. It has been enriching to see the whole of God’s plan throughout time and to see themes repeated I would not have seen were I reading a few verses or one or two chapters at a time.

If you are in a place like I found myself this past December, maybe it’s time to change things up.

My solution - I’ve purchased a coloring Bible, because I don’t sit in quiet stillness well anymore. This year I am going to spend time coloring and meditating on one verse per day while resting and waiting in God’s presence.

If you are in a stage of life where kids and caregiving are making Bible and God time difficult to impossible, here some suggestions:

First, focus on being faithful to whatever God has put into your day. If caring for a child all day (and all night) is what He has put in your day, don’t feel guilty for not getting in a time of Bible reading or study. There was a time when Elijah was doing God’s work to the point of exhaustion. God didn’t tell him to get with it and do more. No, God sent an angel to give him food and water and told Elijah to eat, rest, and eat some more. If that’s the stage you are in, be faithful with what is in front of you. Rest in God and knowing He loves and cares for you. It’s about His grace and mercy, not your effort!

Second, once you’ve rested and eaten, try to memorize one or two verses that you can meditate on should your child fall asleep in your arms and you don’t dare to move a muscle (I’ve been there). I liked Isaiah 40:11 and Zephaniah 3:17, but choose ones that speak to your heart and mind.

Third, I encourage you to get an audio Bible. YouVersion has a read aloud feature for free that can be used with the various Bible reading plans. Last year, I got the One Year Chronological Bible on Audible for $6.50. That’s a great investment to be able to fit some Bible “reading” into bits and pieces of your day when a paper copy just won’t work.

Whatever stage you are in, there is a way to spend some focused time with God. Even if it’s when your child has fallen into an exhausted sleep in your arms after hours of screaming and you just picture yourself held in His arms just as you are holding your child in your arms.

Written by Sarah McGuire

Sarah McGuire  is the Mom of two boys and co-founder of Hope Anew, a nonprofit that guides parents to Christ-centered hope and healing. You can follow Hope Anew on Facebook here. You can also check out Hope Anew’s Online Community here!

Preaching The Gospel To Yourself

As parents of children with special needs we all have been on the receiving end of biblical clichés that often hurt more than they do good. They come from well-meaning individuals, but instead of sweet promises that the Bible holds, they feel like heavy words. Words that often leave us feeling guilty or less than enough. “God will not give you more than you can handle” is one of my favorite phrases to hate. While I do believe this is true when it comes to TEMPTATION like the verse says in context, this doesn’t apply to the children that we have been given.

My daughter is often more than I am capable of handling. Caring for her in the way she needs is way beyond my abilities, and I am constantly falling short. So this verse, if I took it the way people say it, makes me feel like I just need to do better, since it implies I can handle it since God gave it to me.

 In 2 Corinthians 12 God says, “My grace is sufficient for you, my power made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more in my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”  THIS is GOOD NEWS! And the better news is that the bible is FULL of these life-giving promises.

When I was a newly married women I had a friend from church who presented the idea of “preaching the gospel to yourself.” I was going through a hard time and so it was something I started practicing. It is a pretty simple tool I have used over the years to keep myself rooted in what the bible ACTUALLY SAYS and to remained encouraged even in the hardest of times.

So how do we preach the Gospel to ourselves? I start by sitting down with my Bible and a notebook. Then, I go through a few passages and simply write out the promises held in it. This is really easily done in Psalms, but it truly works anywhere you are reading. The point is being intentional about writing these passages out and having them to fall back on when the hard times come.

 For the purpose of this blog I decided to use a Psalm to pull a few promises from.

Psalm 9.

9- The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

10- Those who know your name trust in you, for you Lord have never forsaken those who seek you.

12- He does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.

16- The Lord is known by his acts of Justice.

18- God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish.

In living this “Chronic Life” we must be firmly rooted in Christ. Discouragement is real, and ready to become a true thorn in our sides.  Taking a few minutes daily to ground ourselves and remind ourselves who God is, and what His word says, helps remind us we are not alone in the brokenness of the world.

Written by Laurisa Ballew

Laurisa Ballew is a nurse by trade and mother to a special needs child by fate. She fiercely believes hope and grief walk hand in hand in life, and that storytelling is the universal language that connects us all.  Laurisa has three daughters and writes about the constant humility of parenting in her blog Raising A Sisterhood.