July 8 – “Three battles”

Josh and Christi stopped by the other day.  They happened to be in the neighborhood after Josh had been deployed to do battle for a week away from home.  It was a two-pronged affair, this battleground of his.  One involved the invisible spiritual realm, for he was speaking at a youth camp.  The struggle between the forces of God and the rebels of Satan.  Josh always had the upper hand in that one, even in the times when he may have felt defeated and ineffective.  He was, after all, a representative of the commander of the hosts of heaven.  How could he lose?  He may not see the results right away, may never see them in fact, but he can be assured that the war is won. 

His other fight, however, was centered in the physical realm.  It, too, involved an enemy that he couldn’t see.  Only the results of the enemy’s presence made its existence come to life.  And the consequences of the enemy’s attack lingered on, even after victory had been proclaimed.  Those consequences affected him physically.  They affected his relationships.  And they certainly drove him to cry out to God for relief.  What a great illustration, a manifestation in the physical realm of the battle taking place behind the scenes in the spiritual.  Josh could never have imagined that his chigger infestation could somehow be of use.  Thanks for sharing your struggles with chiggers and Satan, Josh.  I’m sure they will encourage someone.

Things seemed to settle down considerably after they arrived here in Galveston.  Zak and Caleb were certainly glad to have their Daddy back, and they demanded some quality time with him.  Josh was more than happy to oblige, so the two of them crawled into his lap and settled in for a story.  After hearing his Dad read the story of David and Goliath from the The Brick Bible (that’s a new spin on the Old Testament using Legos as illustrations), Caleb was truly inspired.  He raced over to the couch, flexed his muscles, and turned a somersault or two, declaring, “I’m little enough to be like David.  I can beat Goliath, too.” 

The full-body dramatic enactments were fulfilling, but apparently not quite enough to satisfy.  He moved from there to the Lego stash to recreate the battle using the tiny Lego men as action figures.  Working feverishly, he managed to arrange much of the battle field, but one issue kept gnawing at his mind.  Finally, he could continue no longer.  Leaving the battlefield behind, he sought out the counsel of his all-knowing Dad with the question of the ages.  Well, the question of the David versus Goliath ages, anyway.  “Daddy, were there canons with David and Goliath?”  Ah, now that would have been a turn of events in the Israelite struggle against the Philistines.  But sadly, Daddy had to come clean and admit that there canons had not been invented yet.  Somewhat disappointed, Caleb returned to his enactment, disappointed, but perhaps a little more in awe of the idea that such a little guy could do damage to the towering giant.  Maybe there is more to this trusting God stuff than he had ever imagined. 

Wow.  All kinds of spiritual applications, and I just thought it was going to be a quick chance to say hi and bye to our San Antonio grandkids that we don’t get to see often enough.  One would think that God is at work all round us.

Psalms 98:7-9 says, “Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.  Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.  He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.”

Father, thank you for the chance to see Josh and his family.  Show them happiness and keep working near them.  Amen.