The Weapons of Our Warfare
Not too long ago, my six and seven year old granddaughters were accidentally dropped off by their school bus driver at their empty home, instead of at my house. Their mother was working and the children had no phone so, alone in their house, they decided to walk the three hundred yards to mine.
The children came up with a plan. Tying their small dog, Benny, to their red wagon, they decided to gather some weapons in case they encountered an evil stranger on their journey. Anna, my six year old, grabbed a flyswatter while her older sister found a plastic baby bat. The girls also gathered together some hand sanitizer, soap and a broom. Sophia decided to bring some Clorox wipes to stuff in the mouth of any assailant, should the need arise.
The children loaded their weapons into the wagon and threw in a small bag of cookies, in case they got hungry on their long journey. If trouble arose, they planned to jump in the bushes with their puppy and fight off their enemies. Just as they headed down the drive, I arrived to rescue them, having realized they were long overdue.
How confident we can be, so sure we can figure our way out of the messes we find ourselves in. Gathering our weapons; our intelligence, education, culture and job skills, we imagine we are ready for whatever may come. It doesn’t take us long to realize our version of brooms, flyswatters and baby bats are no match for the very real monsters that stalk us as we move through life. In reality, our plans are no better than my granddaughters’: we’ll just jump in the bushes and hide.
While it is true we are the children of GOD, we need to remember—we are the CHILDREN of God. He does not expect us to figure it all out. He knows we will choose the most flimsy of weapons, construct absurdly ridiculous scenarios to explain our predicaments and wander aimlessly as we go about trying to get back to Him.
Instead, Yahweh expects us to trust Him with all of our heart and forget all the other nonsense that fills our heads. Indeed, Isaiah declares He carries us from the womb until all our hairs are white. We are to wait for Him. He is coming.
We are, of course, not without weapons, but the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. Just as baby Jesus was not defenseless, our safety lies in the fact our Father has given His heart to us, and has called us according to His purposes. As we grow in Him, we begin to realize we have become partakers of His divine nature and we speak with His authority. In the end, when the real monsters finally arrive, and they will arrive, we will find we have far more than a flyswatter to crush them with.