And I'm reminded that this is not our home.
And that this is why He came... into this "enemy-occupied territory."
C.S.Lewis writes: "Enemy-occupied territory--that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful King has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage." We daily seek to sabotage the wicked work of our brutal enemy who seeks only to kill, steal, and destroy.
Days like these it may seem that our relentless foe is winning. But he is not. He may win some skirmishes. He may break our hearts and hollow out our dreams. But he will never win the ultimate war. Never. His doom is sure, for the King has landed and is, even now, taking back His creation.
Please forgive me for sharing a bit of what we wrote just recently in our Christmas letter:
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all of the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rest.’” (Lk 2:8-14)
When Janie was still in a coma in the ICU, a dear friend of ours, David Dwight, sent us an explanation from a Biblical language scholar about the words “heavenly host” that blew our socks off! The translation of a “heavenly host” is “far too mild. The word that the translators have called “host” is unequivocally the word ‘army’ in Greek. The word is ‘stratia’ and it is always and everywhere translated ‘army.’” In other words, the Bible tells us that at Jesus’ birth, the sky was filled with a heavenly army, “and what they said to the shepherds was something that feels much more like, ‘Glory to God, this is war, but don’t be afraid.’”
That heavenly army was telling them, and us: “You needn’t be afraid. God does the battling and will win the big war. You trust and walk with this Savior-Warrior-Baby, and be at peace that the Lord’s armies are doing the battling and that the victory will be won. That’s why you can rejoice--the victory will be won.”
And that's why we can rejoice even in the midst of heartbreak and confusion and fear and even doubt. Because our Savior-Warrior-Baby has landed. We live in enemy-occupied territory...but we are not alone. The Mighty One is with us and for us. And He will ultimately win the war, restore this planet, and redeem all this pain and brokenness. He will truly make all things new. No more tears. No more separation. No more sorrow. No more suffering.
O glorious day!
But until great and glorious day, He will give us the strength to fight another day. One day, one hour, at a time. To keep pushing back the darkness and doubt and despair with His love and grace and power and provision.
Keep fighting, keep trusting... today. Just for today. And trust the Almighty One to give you enough grace to do it again tomorrow. For He will.
You do not fight alone. We have one another--fellow saboteurs in this vast army of His. And we have the omnipotent, sovereign, unconquerable King.
Yes, the King has landed. There is no pit too deep, no battle too fierce, no enemy-occupied territory too vast that our Savior-Warrior-Baby is not deeper and stronger and greater still. This is war--but don't be afraid. To God be the glory.
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