This is a War Cry
My mind is like trench warfare; it’s under siege and is being taken captive by a relentless enemy. Hell pulled out all of its troops to try to take me out. Like the loud bang of mortars, the negative thoughts ring through my ears one after another. They never cease. I cower in the pits defenseless, praying that rescue makes it to me before it’s too late. The anxiety creeps into the depths of the ditch like gas to fill the space as I begin to suffocate. I desperately look around for an oxygen mask, but it’s no where to be found. I hear the footsteps from above draw closer and I come to terms with my death. As I start to lose consciousness, the darkness begins to consume me. The gorge became the grave where I succumbed to my pain. I died.
My soul is awakened as I’m immersed in water. I gasp, taking in the breath of life, astonished to be alive. A bright sun-like beam glows over the edge of the trench. I look down at my body in disbelief, only to realize that I’m covered in blood. I hastily search for wounds to stop the bleeding, only to notice that it’s not actually my blood. I look up towards the light. I lock eyes with someone who feels like a Friend. I quickly realize that the blood covering me is actually the blood of my Savior who ran through the line of fire to rescue me. He pulls me from the pit and equips me with His armor to stand against my enemies. He says, “If I am for you, who can be against you?” I run to the shelter of His shadow; a kind of shelter only He can provide. The bullets ricochet off of my armor back towards the attackers of my mind, one by one killing every lie that I ever believed about myself. Like a roar of lion, He spoke three words: IT IS FINISHED. Satan and his army retreated to their trench in defeat, surrendering their weapons of lies and deceit in the name of Jesus.
The bottom of the abyss can be mistaken as refuge from the reign of terror when you don’t know the Refuge who reigns over all, defeating death, Hell, and the grave. The walls of the pit provide a false sense of protection when you don’t know the Provider and the Protector. The confines of the trench cast an artificial comfort and create complacency in the chaos when you don’t know the Prince of Peace. You dig-in to gain stability but sacrifice your mobility when you don’t know the One who sacrificed His son so we could stand firm in Him. Time after time, like a cycle that never ends, when we find ourselves stumbling back into the trap of that trench, the God who sees you persistently pursues — leaving the ninety-nine for the one to recover and renew.
