That Annoying Fly and Our First Line of Defense

It is Saturday morning and my blog inspiration is slow in coming, Soon the creative juices start to flow. It starts with an annoying, over-sized, buzzing horse fly that overflew his bounds since the night before. I attempt tactical warfare -- swatting and spraying – but the beast lives on. Then, while sitting at my desk, he has the nerve to land on me. I think: “This is one of satan’s little imps on assignment to steal my joy and annoy me!” He, obviously, doesn’t know I am in “beast-mode” after a week of faith-filled injections of God’s Word at VBS. I grab my trusty flying insect spray and nail him. He is down for the count! Victory!

Now, it is time to head out for a 7 am appointment. I turn the ignition on my car. It does not start. All the lights, music, and a/c are working just fine. I know it's not the battery. I call my children for help, but, alas, this is their morning to sleep in. No cell phones on. One last attempt before canceling my appointment. I call my grandson who picks up the call. He is gracious to get me. It is worth the annoyance to have this precious few minutes together. He fills me in on his new real estate career and so much more. He waits while in my appointment. We go for breakfast at Chick-Fil-A where my granddaughter serves us. Then, we’re back to my home where I start to figure out what to do about my car. It’s Saturday and my auto repair shop is closed. I call and leave a message that I’ll have AAA to tow the car to them on Monday. I call and ask my family to please take me to church tomorrow because I’m on for serving this Sunday. I think “This is all a hassle with towing, a repair bill that I’m not looking forward to, and my family going out of their way for me, but I’ll get it done and soon this will be behind me!

I sit down for my morning devotion and prayer time when suddenly, I remember that on Thursday night I was the speaker for our Rejoice Healing Night at my church. I spoke about our “first line of defense” when trouble comes. Jesus used it for those who approached Him for healing or help. The example I used was from Mark 5 -- the story of Jairus, a synagogue leader, who came to Jesus begging Him to come and heal his dying daughter. After the interruption of a crowd and a woman with an issue of blood for 12 years who was healed as she touched the hem of His garment, Jairus and Jesus were on their way again. But Jairus was met by people from his home who said: “Don’t bother the Teacher – your daughter is dead!” Before Jairus could say a word, Jesus said to him: “Do not fear – only believe!” The first line of defense. The little girl was healed.

An "aha" hits me. I start praying for my car right here in my chair. “Nothing is impossible with You, God!" I go to my car and pray. “Please heal my car, Lord. I am not fearing. I am believing that nothing is impossible with You!” I turn the ignition. Nothing. But, something (actually, Someone), tells me to look to my right. I see that my car’s gear stick is in neutral – not in park. I put it in park, turn the ignition, the car starts -- and in my heart, I hear bands playing and choirs singing “Alleluia” and so am I!

Oh me. Had I not prayed and just pondered “What do I do? Who do I call? Where do I go?” instead of applying my "first line of defense", I would be waiting for the tow truck on Monday and no telling what charges would have been incurred. So many repercussions when, instead, I use Jesus' tips for quick answers to prayer: "Do not fear; only believe!"

I think back on my Saturday morning fly and car annoyances. I feel that way about the enemy of our souls – how annoying he can be. But, when we use the right plan of attack on him, he and all his tactics to “steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10) will be swatted and lambasted out of our lives. Remember. Jesus and I told you so: "Do not fear; only believe!"

Tactical Warfare – Defensively and Offensively

Yesterday I posted that our “First Line of Defense”, when a negative surprise comes to take us out, should be Jesus’ words to Jairus when he was told his daughter was dead: “Do not be afraid. Only believe!” Counterattack the negative by refusing to be afraid and to believe that the story is not ending. It is just beginning and God has a plan of how the story will end.

Life can often feel like a raging battle is going on as soon as we wake up. We robotically take whatever on, doing our best to be brave, determined to trust God, read His Word, and pray, but sometimes it’s hard to create a battle plan. That's when we turn the defensive stance, to a daily faith on the offense that is:

~ Waking and proclaiming God’s truths over our lives (“God is with me, for me, above me, before me…”)
~ Moving God’s Word from our head to our heart by dwelling on it throughout the day.
~ Praying habitually -- in the car, in our home, in our free time.
~ Having a team of people to support our faith walk.
~ Praising God as we see His handiwork throughout our day.
~ Thanking God continually for all we have.

A Christian on offense moves into the battlefield not only able to withstand war but ready to win. They see not only what is coming against them, but they are prepared with a tactical plan to love when usually they’d be prone to fear. Rather than being a Chess piece, they know they are sons and daughters of the King, loved, provided for and helped along the way. They are an active force of good on the spiritual game board of good and evil. God sees their faith and willingness to prepare. He rewards them for seeking Him diligently.

This person understands it is not their own willpower that wins, it is not their mindset that overcomes, but it is the blood of Jesus that won for them. In humility, they stand under God so that He can move over their lives and into the lives of others.

My posture today is that of offense. I’m suited up and ready to go. Ephesians 6:10-18 tells me how: “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 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 powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

My First Line of Defense

Part of my training at Children's Hospital included knowing the “first line of defense” in case of fire or other emergencies. Knowing where the fire pulls and extinguishers are, as well as knowing the color codes and alerts in case of security issues.

In my personal life, I’ve also come to learn my absolute first line of defense when I’m faced with words that shake me to my core. I’ve heard: “Your daughter is diagnosed with cystic fibrosis!“ “Our house is on fire!” “Your mother only has hours to live!” “He was in a car accident!” "Your husband has Stage 4 cancer!” I wish that my first line of defense in all those instances had been “I will not be afraid. I believe that God has me and He will work all things for good!”

A great lesson came from one of my favorite Bible stories from Mark 5:35-36. It speaks of Jairus, a synagogue leader, who came to Jesus begging him to go with him to heal his daughter who was dying. As Jesus was going with him, some people from Jairus' house came saying “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher any more?” Here’s my favorite line (the first line of defense) from Jesus to Jairus when He overheard their words: “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” I can even visualize that setting -- Jesus putting one hand up (“STOP -- don’t think!”) and the other hand with a finger up to his lips (“Shush -- don’t speak!”)

“Why bother?” Isn’t that what the naysayers and doubters say and isn’t that what the enemy of our souls wants us to say? It’s the whisper we hear when the bad news comes. "Give up. It’s Hopeless. I’m afraid. I can’t take this. I can't handle it alone."

Two little words change everything. “But Jesus.” He has a different message, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” Don’t give up or let go of hope. Jesus is the Giver of life and it’s not finished until He says so. He took her by the hand and said: "Little girl, I say to you, get up!”. The girl stood up and began to walk around” (Mark 5:41-42).

Above, I quoted lines from “my story”. “Your daughter has cystic fibrosis!“ But Jesus -- that little girl was dramatically healed, has a 5-½ octave vocal range and daily lives to give the good news of Jesus. “Our house is on fire!” But Jesus -- those were words our daughter cried out to us when their home was burning. They were all safe, their insurance more than covered their losses, and rebuilt the home and have shared God's goodness to others. “Your mother only has hours to live!” But Jesus -- Mom recovered and lived a full life for another eight years. “He was in a car accident!” But Jesus -- our son survived what could have easily been a fatal car crash. “Your husband has Stage 4 cancer!” But Jesus -- gave him and me such peace that passed understanding throughout the journey, and he WAS healed when he graduated to heaven.

Jairus’ “little girl” was his “But Jesus” moment. What is your “little girl” today? What is your first line of defense when those riveting times come? My first line of defense is Jesus’ words “Do not be afraid. Only believe.” It's not over until He says "It's over!"