One day as I was meandering along in my life trying to procrastinate writing some reports a thought occured to me. Frodo doesn't like me. He doesn't listen to me. He doesn't respect me. He doesn't get what we are trying to do. I need to fire him. I think our relationship can not continue. So, I decided to let him go after two years of our working together. Then I thought to myself, 'Hang on! None of that is true.' Frodo is my friend and national team leader. We have learned tons together. Why would I think for a moment that any of those thoughts I thought were true. And then I thought another thought. What if those were not my thoughts at all? What if what just happened was an attack of the evil one? It was a thought.
I thought that perhaps the enemy did not like our team very much and maybe he thought it should be disbanded. I thought that perhaps if he was attacking me this way perhaps he was attacking other's thoughts as well.
So, I thought I would ask. I was quite unprepared for the answer. We sat together, Frodo, Merry, Sam, and Pippen and myself and I described what I thought. Merry did not hesitate to answer. Just the other day, he said, he had a big fight with his wife. He said that he told her he would have to quit his job with us and stop ministering with the team. After a heated debate that no doubt centered on both the financial inviabilily of such a move and the consequences to the spiritual work he stormed out of his apartment and sat on a bench in the courtyard. The King clearly said to him, 'Did I ask you to quit?' Merry replied, 'No.' 'Then what are you doing?' the King concluded. Merry went upstairs and apologized to his wife. He told her that he was not quitting the team. She said that of course he wasn't.
Then Sam joined in. He said that just the other day he had a fight with his wife. They had moved up from the south to join the team and his wife was not fond of Minas Tirith. He said he would quit the team and take them all back down south. After a big fight he fled out of the apartment and sat on a bench in the courtyard. The King said to him very clearly, 'Did I ask you to move back down south?' He said, 'No.' 'Then what are you doing?' the King concluded. Sam went back upstairs and told his wife he was not quitting and they were not going back down south. She said that of course they weren't.
In the history of the Church this happens all the time. How many people do you know that have broken relationships and when you try to find out why, you can't find anything at all. I am grateful to the King that he has made us mature enough to see the hand of the enemy in our lives and to overcome it. I think also that I need to pray for wisdom to face the next attack. For now, I just thought that you ought to know that not all the nasty thoughts in your head are your thoughts. Not all the violent thoughts you think proceed from your heart. These thoughts come and when they do you need to disagree with them and cast them out of your mind. Take your thoughts captive for Christ and the King will be honored in all your relationships.
3 comments:
For some strange reason we always seem to have to have some enemy out there to blame for things not going well. We forget too easily that we struggle not with flesh and blood, but with principalities. I am trying to understand that the enemy are not my brothers in Christ, but Satan who is behind all the things that cause us to turn our heads looking for someone to blame.
Strider, another "thought" if I may...Don't ya think if the enemy isn't fighting us very hard then it's time for us to wonder why? andddd...sometimes he is blamed for things he has nothing to do with??? Deep conversation for sure! One thing I won't pray for is Patience....but I need all the wisdom I can get!!! Fabulous post and it gives one "food for thought"!!!
Dear Anon, Sorry to be slow to answer your questions. First, the enemy is always fighting us. The thief seeks to kill, and steal, and destroy... he is not happy just to let us muddle along. I have heard the arguement that if we don't seem opposed then we must be doing something wrong but I don't think so. He opposes us in different ways at different times. Sometimes overtly sometimes not. Don't forget that our King is greater and sometimes He blesses us and gives us times of rest- that is not evil! I used to say that the enemy wishes he could take credit for all the nonsense we do but I don't say that anymore. Our hearts were made good by our King. Our true desires and our true yearnings are pure because of His work on the cross. But Paul in Romans 7 points out the battle that the flesh- that is not the 'real' me- is a weasel and always wants what is the opposite of what the King wants. It is condemnation that calls sin in our lives anything but what the evil one is doing. The evil one wants us to believe that we are weak and selfish and unable to do good. But we are more than conquerers through who? Through Him. We need to live like that and stop giving in the the enemy who is lying to us. Discernment, discernment, discernment. Oh, that we were wise enough to see the hand of the enemy in our relationships and our lives. This would radically change us.
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