The Sound of Feet Running (Or, How to Resist the Devil)
For our grown-up warrior, who helped us hear the sound of feet running.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
James 4:7-8
Some said we were living near the very gates of the enemy. Deep in the heart of the ancient walled city was an old mosque, made famous over the centuries by the pilgrims who journeyed there to ask Allah to open their barren wombs. Through ornate iron gates I could see thousands of colored strips of cloth, a flickering ticker-tape parade of faith and magic mixed with Islamic prayers.
The spiritual darkness was suffocating at times. Even the local people warned us of the power of darkness, always pressing them, chasing them.
The first day our son told us what he saw we doubted him, we mature-adults-armed-with-reason.
The monster is trying to choke me.
He woke up screaming and crying. We ran to his room to find him beating the air, little arms frantic. The room was sharp with a sense of evil. This was no normal night terror. No nightmare. As we held his frantic body, we cried out the name of Jesus. The change in the room was tangible. Peace was instant and powerful.
Long after our little one went back to sleep, we lay in bed wide awake, knife-edge alert and aware that the spiritual battle was too great for us alone. And it was insulting. God’s enemy, the devil, will even go after our children.
In the coming days, Muslim friends told us of a “bed demon” who torments children by trying to choke them. “It is a common occurrence,” they declared. They instructed us to take a rich, tar-like substance, blessed by the local imam, and paint the corners of his room with it for protection.
We explained that as followers of Jesus, we have access to a greater power, the Name above all names, Jesus Christ. We described how He had delivered our son and brought peace.
Even as we testified to the power of Jesus’ name, our hearts were fragile, still shaken by the audacity of the enemy to assault our little three-year-old boy.
We decided it was not too early in his life to teach our son to use the name of Jesus to overcome fear. So we did.
A few days later, we were sitting in the small courtyard of our house having lunch.
Daddy, help me!
He reached for my husband’s hand and led him from the table.
His eyes were wide with fear, his chin set with the determination of a little warrior as he looked at something near the entrance to the house. We saw nothing, but we were getting used to that. We could feel it, though.
We need to tell them Jesus said to go away!
My husband stood, and together they walked toward the door as he bravely declared,
Go away in Jesus’ name!
With a look of surprise and joy, he turned to his father and me.
Can you hear it? They’re running away! Can’t you hear it?
Drumming his legs, he exclaimed with delight,
It sounds like this! It’s the sound of feet running!
Content the battle was won for now, he returned to his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Now the child was the teacher, and his father and I sat in amazement at the simple faith and victory of a child who believed.
You may find this story incredulous. This is the power of true story-telling. If we had not lived it, or witnessed it, we could not have believed it. I stand as witness to the power of Jesus’ name.
So how do we resist the devil?
First, we submit ourselves to God, even when the circumstances He allows might confuse us or make us uncomfortable. Even if the audacity of the enemy’s tactics might insult us.
It is through God’s power we overcome.
Then, with the faith of a child, we resist the devil in Jesus’ name and he will flee from us. We may even hear the sound of feet running, if we have ears to hear.
Lord, give me the faith of a child to resist the devil in Jesus’ name. Amen.
When we submit to God, resist the devil in Jesus' name, we may just hear the sound of feet running if we have ears to hear. #spiritualwarfare #faith Share on XImage by Tim Mrzyglod from Pixabay
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