Hi my beautiful friend,
It's been a while since I've written you, and surely neither of us thought this would be the first subject I would be sending an email to you about after starting my sabbatical last summer. But here we are. I just couldn't keep silent about this any longer...
The evil that is being exposed right now...
is heavy.
is heartbreaking.
is completely upsetting, unsettling, and disturbing.
It is absolutely vile, disgusting, atrocious, and any other awful word you can think of!!
And that is why I wanted to give you this gentle and friendly reminder to keep your eyes on the Lord, especially during this time.
These files and all that are contained in them prove that evil is absolutely real.
And right now is a time of wrestling, crying out, and feeling gut-wrenched as we are continuing to see all that is being revealed.
These cries are filled with anger, frustration, and disgust. Ultimately, we are groaning for justice!
And rightfully so!
But some of us are doing the wrong thing - only voicing our concerns to others, on social media, etc. without taking it to God in prayer.
So let's go to a place of absolute truth that is unredacted - GOD'S WORD. It says in Ephesians 6:12 NKJV:
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
That means that our raised voices which are meant to get other's attention can only go so far.
Yes we can push.
Yes we can march.
Yes we can do things in the physical, but our physical strength will only get us so far.
Why? Because, as Ephesians 6:12 tells us, this is a spiritual battle and it must be won with spiritual weapons.
So how do we do that? What weapons do we have?
Let's look at the context of the above verses:
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
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14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
-Ephesians 6:10-20 NKJV
^^ This is how we fight our battles - with the Word of God - by reading it, allowing it to purify us, and also utilizing it as our weapon against the enemy.
During this time of such deep, dark evil being exposed the enemy wants us to become desensitized and wants us to callous our hearts to these atrocities so that the love Jesus tells us to have will be waxed cold.
The enemy wants us to just push it away, numb ourselves, or turn a blind eye. But that is not what Jesus told us to do when it comes to the lives of the innocent or the oppressed, nor is it what Jesus modeled as an example when He walked this earth.
The enemy is good at what he does - warfare - and this is a psychological one...
If you are deeply disturbed, you should be.
That shows you are still a human with a loving and caring heart.
But don't allow all of this evil to consume you.
Don't let it desensitize you or turn your heart cold.
Don't let it hijack your emotions by having you take out your irritability, frustration, and anger on those you love and are closest to you.
None of those things above will bring an end to the heartache you are feeling for these victims.
Instead, disconnect (from your phone, the internet, social media, the online space as a whole) and decompress.
Get alone with God.
Read the Word of God and allow it to penetrate deep within your soul.
Take time to pray. (And truly lay ALL your feelings out at the feet of Jesus.)
Love those closest to you - your little ones, your family, your friends.
This is a super heavy time right now, but I believe God is greater.
I believe if we truly seek Him and wholeheartedly go back to the Word of God to fight the evil around us - which is the only WINNING tactic - we will see our prayers answered. I believe we will see justice prevail. I believe we will see hearts mended and that we will be given a strategy on how we can do our part to help those who have suffered around us - in big ways or small.
These actions and answers may not come immediately. They may take time. BUT if we continue to follow Jesus, if we continue to pray and seek His face in full surrender and obedience to Him, then we will continue to see God move and the enemy will not be able to prevail against us.
We are not helpless.
We are not hopeless.
We are not defenseless.
God can help us.
Jesus can save us.
The Holy Spirit can guide and direct us.
Don't lose heart.
Don't lose your faith.
We are in a war, my beautiful friend.
Not just a fight. Not just a tussle.
We are in A WAR.
It's time to wake up and act like it.
With Christ's love and encouragement,
~Sarah