The Psalms are full of quotes about having The Lord on our side. Now, I'm sure that imagery means a lot to those who are actually fighting a war... but what about those of us who are civilians and whose Great Challenges consist of fighting a stubborn zit, or trying to hold our tongues when someone says something that makes us bristle?
A few weeks ago, I was lying in bed, trying to shake a bout of sickness. It was in this state of forced reflection and stillness that I have been reminded of the Enemy we all face - and the great Grace of God who is on our side.
That day, I had planned two appointments to meet with youth. Then I got sick. Not the type of sick where you sniffle a bit, but don't notice most of the time. It was the full-out lying-on-your-back-in-bed-because-else-you'll-have-a-splitting-headache type. Instead of calling up the kids to cancel like I should have done, I instead planned to suffer through it, martyr-like. It's my own twisted sense of reasoning: I hate it when people cancel on me, so I never want to be the one who cancels on someone else.
Well, that's when God stepped in. I checked my Facebook to confirm plans to meet up with the first one - and found she had cancelled due to other school plans. Normally this would have made me frustrated, but I gratefully accepted it this time.
Then, around 12pm, I received a phone call from the other one, calling on his lunch break: Hello. Do you still want to meet up today or do it another day?
For a split second, I thought about keeping stubbornly to our previous plans, like a soldier who has been dismissed but doggedly stays at his post. Then, common sense won out.
Me: Um, actually, I'm really sick right now. Can we meet up next week?
He readily agreed, and God's Grace won out over my stubborn pride.
See, the Enemy doesn't always show up in obviously evil ways such as child prostitution or bullying. Most often, we encounter sin's temptation in the self-sufficient attitude or the snarky remarks we make to loved ones. These are the battles we all face everyday. And The Lord is on our side. He is there whispering a gentle reminder to hold our tongues, or giving us a way to remain patient under criticism, or, in my case, providing a way that I didn't have to let anyone down by cancelling appointments, but still enabling me to get the rest I needed. Small things that could be coincidences... but then again... maybe they aren't.
Let's all look for ways that He is on our side today.
