The Arkansas Shakespeare theater recently asked my husband to play a cameo role in a play called "Comedy of Errors.” Nathan's role was that of an executioner. He stood over his captive for quite sometime until he eventually proclaimed, “I quit “ and stormed off the stage.
The costume design manager did an impeccable job of thinking through every detail of his costume. From the hood to cover his head to the foot-gear to cover his feet, each part of the costume had a purpose.
It made me think of how when we don’t evangelize we leave the world in the dark, and when we don’t disciple believers we leave them unarmed to the invisible battle of the executioner (Satan ) who seeks to destroy our lives. Both result in a tragedy of errors.
God is always with us and for us, and His Word tells us that no one and nothing can stand between us and His Love. God’s heart always moves with compassion.
Every room we step into is an alter unto the Lord. Yet here often lies my error. I don’t realize that God is always moving in the unseen. I don’t grasp that His very breath of life sustains me. The tragedy of my error is that I’ve been taught that I can do anything I put my mind to, and the truth is I can do nothing apart from God! It’s a lie of Satan to teach me to operate based on my abilities. The truth is I need to realize the battle is not mine in the first place, but the Lord’s. We are to look to Christ to defend His Name, not our own. My name means nothing, it is His name that is to be lifted high.
God never told us that the weapons wouldn’t form against us, He just assured us that they wouldn’t proposer. John 8:44 says that the devil is a liar. My job is to speak truth and lay aside falsehood. (Ephesians 4:22-25).
In our error we blindly ignore the schemes of the devil. We think he is a story we read in a book, or a role in a play, yet he is real.. Satan constantly wants to misrepresent God’s heart to the world around us. He wants us to cast off our confidence so we will give up our hope of seeing God’s resurrection power in our battles.
God is always the rock where we stand. We don’t win a battle by the strength of our own hands, God is the mountain mover. We don’t have to rush to social media or to a platform to try to convince anyone of this or that, we can be confident that God’s faithfulness will see us through. Our souls can rest because our identity is found in Him.
Jesus enables our love to increase. A love that erases all the lies. God re-scripts our stories. He makes beauty from ashes. Satan battles against believers because we are God’s witnesses to the world around us. The devil doesn’t want us to proclaim and live out a gospel that sets people free.
As I watched my husband play his role, I realized that God allowed me to enter a play in my hometown to remind me that His goal every day is to awaken my spiritual stupor and to encourage me to live with my eyes wide open to the spiritual battles going on around me. Every source of blessing is Satan's point of attack. Let’s not cite the old scripts of our past, to were we want to scream, "I quit" and walk off stage, but let's recite God’s living Word that tells us we are more than conquers in Christ Jesus! Knowing that we can’t add to or take away from the good news of the gospel, and God’s already won the battle, it’s solely ours to claim. His blood covers our every error, and makes us right in His sight.
Proverbs 31:25 says, it's God who allows us to LAUGH, without fear of the future.
If you want to prepare for your spiritual battles, I encourage you to listen to Andrea's three part series on Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God! You will be reminded that God has given us every piece of protection we need. Daily we get to put on the FULL armor so we can stand in faith against the lies of the enemy. Check out part one of Andrea's series here!
Best Regards,
Jessica Brown
