Make War

This post may be rambling, jumpy, and make no sense.  Oh hey, that's kind of how I've been lately!  But enough about me.  I was just giving a fair warning, my friends.

I have been thinking a lot about spiritual warfare lately, which is kind of ironic considering that is a whole lot of what spiritual warfare is about--thoughts.  Well, I guess I haven't really been thinking about it, I've been experiencing it...which has made me think about it... ANYWAY.

Basically, there are real demons and real angels fighting against each other in real time.  Oh yes, it is quite legit.  I have read C.S. Lewis's "The Screwtape Letters" (which I would recommend any day of the week) and am currently reading a book called "The Beginner's Guide to Spiritual Warfare" (which a pretty awesome girl in my bible study let me borrow) and both have really made me fascinated by the thought of oppressive spirits entering my brain against my will and manipulating my thoughts.  Intense stuff, I tell you.

The thing about thinking is that you can do it anywhere at anytime about anything.  If we are living, we are thinking.  Or rather, if we are thinking, we are living.... Hmmm. (<classic psychology major quote??)

I picture in my head little demons sitting at laptops with the whole headphone-microphone duo strapped to their heads viewing statistical data of what in the past has made me act one way or the other and how to manipulate my actions according to my thoughts.  They proceed to try to figure out how to make bad things worse and good things bad.  Not the things in essence, but the way I react to those things.  What a system!  I can see them in my head right now-- reviewing notes stored in the "Inner Lou" database and sipping little lattes to keep themselves awake.  I do not like them.

I can also picture this huge earthquake, rapturing (oh hey pun) the little nerds causing them to yell frantically and in another language, like German would be really cool.  But seriously, it's like God just shakes them out from under their seats and grabs the little rolling chair and does the whole slow motion slide to right in front of the mother computer screen.  And with appropriately themed action music, He then hacks the whole system, "restores my soul" (oh hey Psalm 23:3), and saves the day. Yayyyyyyyyy.

Okay, so that is not exactly how spiritual warfare works.

It is intense, really intense.  It is a battle.  It is dangerous.  It is discouraging. It is ongoing. It is conquerable.

Oh God, how you conquer all things.

For who is God besides the LORD?
And who is the Rock except our God?
It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You make your saving help my shield,
and your right hand sustains me;
your help has made me great.
You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.
I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
I crushed them so that they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.
You armed me with strength for battle;
you humbled my adversaries before me.
You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes.
-Psalm 18:31-40