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How to Handle Spiritual Warfare (It’s not fun!)
By Julie | November 25, 2008
The Plan: Hello again! It’s been awhile since we’ve posted anything here… a week. We took a break from the site, and from other distractions, to get back to what was important… God and family.
Things did not go as planned. We had some good prayer and Bible time. We had some great family moments. But, as often happens when we try to dedicate our time to God, the unexpected just kept happening. There were little things, tasks taking longer than normal, the kids were more high energy and needy. But there were bigger things too. Marc was called out of town for an afternoon, odd in itself; he came back sick. I was sick. It’s hard to concentrate on the Bible and prayer when you’re feeling lousy.
Chaos: The worst happened yesterday. As my son started coming up the stairs he stumbled, slipped and landed on the one he’d been standing on. He’s usually very good on the stairs. He started screaming, blood gushed out of his chin. I didn’t know if would need stitches. I already had a doctor’s appointment scheduled within the hour. I called to see if they could look at my son, they said yes.
Our doctor said he would need stitches. My heart started pounding. He wasn’t able to do stitches there; they didn’t have a board they lay young kids on to hold them down. We were sent to the ER at a nearby hospital. I called Marc on the way. When I walked in to the emergency room I had an eerie feeling something wasn’t right. But we got checked in and sent to the waiting area. We waited an hour, with a blood filled band-aid on my son’s chin. In that time not one person was helped. Not one! The waiting room only got more crowded, with around 20 people waiting. I asked how long it would be. “You’re way down on the list,” I was told. I said, “But nobody has been helped the entire time I’ve been here.” The woman shook her head sadly and said, “I know.” So said I needed to get my son care and I’d have to leave. She nodded, and said everyone was probably busy, my odds weren’t good. I was upset when we left. I thought, ‘if an emergency room can’t stitch up my son, where would I go?!’ Then, Marc showed up. He suggested we call a friend to get advice. One of them told us to try “Urgent Care”, one of those places you go to if your doctor can’t help, but you don’t need the ER. I wondered if they’d have the supplies they needed, our doctor’s office didn’t. And, I thought they’d be booked, since the ER was so full.
Remembering to pray: Then, I remembered to pray, give the situation to God; it made all the difference. I’d been so frazzled, and worried, that I’d only concentrated for a couple short prayers… “God, please let my son be ok.”… “Please help us to afford what that insurance won’t cover.” … “Please have the boys behave.” Then I’d think of the next thing to do, of traffic, what I had hoped to get done that day, and the lunch we’d missed waiting for doctors. On the way to Urgent Care I prayed for God to take over the situation. Then I prayed for everything that came to mind.
We had a very short wait at Urgent Care. Just before the procedure, Marc was holding our son, I circled us all in a hug and we prayed for his safety, comfort, wisdom for the doctor, and strength for us all. It was devastating to see my little guy strapped down, then we were sent out of the room listening to him scream. How heartbreaking! But, in a few moments we were holding him again, he had 3 stitches in his chin. God had answered our prayers, we had great care, and my son is doing wonderful!
Spiritual Warfare: Sometimes when I slow down to give my all to God, all hell breaks loose. I shake my head and wonder, why? I was trying to do the right thing, why is this happening now?! I get so discouraged, not able to stay with God, and now I have more struggles. But isn’t that what we should expect? When we are going about our day, trying to fit God in if we have time, Satan doesn’t really care. We’re busy and preoccupied, and that’s what he wants. But last week I was praying things that were threatening his turf, his hold in my life, my family’s life, and many other lives I prayed harder for than normal. Satan fights back, and unfortunately, we can’t see him coming.
The solution: Pray. The power we have is stronger than anything Satan could throw at us. We have a direct line communication with God. God is more powerful than any president or king on this planet, ever. God doesn’t worry about gridlock, or checks and balances. He takes care of our needs instantly, or put us on a path that eventually leads to a better place over a period of time. The tricky part, the part I don’t handle as well as I’d like, is to remember in the chaos to give it to him, to pray and to send Satan on his way. I’m convinced yesterday would’ve been different if I would’ve given my son’s care to God first, and the doctors second. Over three hours passed before I prayed like I should have.
God gives insights: When we were finally home I remembered the verse, “for everything there is a season.” I wondered why we had to sit in the emergency room for an hour, to see no movement, and a bunch of really sad looking people. Then, I called my friend back to thank her for helping me keep my sanity after we left the hospital. I said, “When I couldn’t get care at an emergency room I didn’t know what to do.” She used to be a nurse and said a lot of people have the emergency room as their primary care doctor these days. I asked why. She said so many people can’t afford insurance, and when they get sick, the emergency room is one of the only places to take them. I made a comment about being glad we had it, because we had the option to leave. As I hung up the phone I realized I’d said a terrible thing. I’m sure the people who’d spent hours to see a doctor wished they could leave, but they had no where to go. I am no better than them. Just because my family has insurance is no reason for me to receive better care than them. This system we call “health care” doesn’t do a good enough job if it doesn’t provide “health” and “care” when it’s really needed. What’s the solution to a broken system? I’m not sure. God called us to help even the “least of these”. But, I’m not exactly rich, and health care is expensive. I don’t have much faith in government to fix it, and God didn’t call a system to help, he called His people. Today, I don’t know the solution, but I do know, if enough of us pray, we’ll have one.
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