You weren’t wrong, and you’re not alone. It’s important to keep that in mind because there’s going to be a test later. Make no mistake though, you are at war.
The first play in modern warfare is to disrupt communications, and this is what our spiritual enemies are doing today. They want us isolated from those who would encourage us, provide intel, and coordinate opposition. Once that’s accomplished, they will attempt to crush our spirits, which is much easier to do if we’re in isolation. In that dark place one may begin to doubt the cause, and perhaps entertain the idea that our allies have abandoned us. They haven’t, not all of them. But the enemy wants us to think they have, and even become bitter towards them.
“In nothing is the power of the dark lord more clearly shown than in the estrangement that divides all who still oppose him.”
JRR Tolkien The Fellowship of the Ring
It’s easy to get angry with those who wrote this off as merely a human event, where the stakes were only relevant in the abstract — no more than a winter storm, or a dip in the stock market. Some thought we would easily slip back into the comfortable routines of normal life, or even the uncomfortable and annoying new routines. Perhaps now it’s becoming clear that this is not the case. The war is raging, we all have a part to play, and we can’t be bothered with pointing fingers at one another when the enemies loom larger and more menacing every day.
The enemy knows his time is short, and so he pushes those advantages all the harder. It’s just proper military tactics: When your opponents suffer a defeat, you press the attack, get them on the run and keep them running lest they have time to turn around, regather their composure, and fight back. And believe me, fighting back is what the enemy fears more than anything. That, and your willingness to fight together.
You weren’t wrong, and you’re not alone.
No matter how your enemies try to spin it, nothing can change the facts that you know in your heart. Close your eyes and listen to the Spirit of God. Go ahead, do it now.
“Lord, was I right to stand for the things you call good, and against those that you call evil?”
If you heard any answer other than a resounding, “YES!” tell that voice to depart from you, because God never changes. He’s not like feeble men who make temporary alliances for personal gain. He will never ally himself with unholy acts nor men who perpetrate them, and He warns us from doing likewise.
I know many of you feel like you’re alone, powerless, and maybe even a little bit afraid of what comes next. Will they really push this as far as they say they will, or is it all just political theater intended to push a human agenda? Will cooler heads prevail and the slow, rusty gears of government find that comfortable equilibrium, or will it really come down to forced vaccinations and seized assets? History is no comfort against the latter, as many a refugee will attest.
So where does that leave the children of God?
For one thing, stand up and speak to those who will listen. Speak those truths with conviction and never doubt that what He promised will come to pass, though voices mock you online, behemoth corporations persecute you, and your leaders let you down.
Another thing you can do is to remove yourself from those who won’t listen. Remember, you are at war and it won’t do you any good to absorb the insidious counsel of those who openly oppose what God has said is good, and worth fighting for. Whether that means disengaging from social media, letting a few friendships simmer on the back burner for a spell, or walking away from toxic relationships, is something each of us will need to examine in prayer in the days ahead.
Remember, I told you there was going to be a test. I don’t know if that test will come in seven days or seventy. I don’t have any special revelation and I wouldn’t suggest you bank on my opinions any more than your own, but I do know that the test is coming, and very soon people will be looking at you to make sense of it all.
Think now about what you will tell them. If you’re not sure yet, that’s fine. Think, pray, and if no clarity comes to you, then know that you can always call on your allies to help you sort it out. We don’t need to have all the answers, but we can figure out how He wants us to move forward, so long as we remember that we weren’t wrong, and we’re not alone.