It seems there has been a lot of junk happening in our lives recently. It is as if someone is trying to interfere with progress. Makes sense, right? If we are truly following God we can only expect to have some difficulties. Jesus promised that right before His high priestly prayer:

John 16:33 — I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

This warfare we have felt has been since we were in Anderson to visit NewSpring. Thankfully, God has given us great peace about all of this and we continually trust Him. But it is HARD to deal with all this junk. I read a book this week by an author I have previously enjoyed, Paulo Coelho. The book is The Pilgrimage. In it, the two main characters are discussing a kind of spiritual warfare and I found this passage interesting:

“Our enemy joins the battle only because he knows that he can hurt us — and hurt us in exactly the spot where our pride tells us that we are most invincible. During the fight, we always try to protect our weak spot, so the enemy strikes the at the unguarded side — the side in which we have the most confidence. And we wind up defeated because we allowe what should never be allowed: we let the enmy choose how the battle will be waged.”

I love this concept. When we are facing a fight, we protect our weak spot. So the enemy, like any good fighter, goes for the unprotected part — even though that is our strong point. Just because it is our strong point, or the area we have the most confidence in, does not mean it cannot be attacked. So let us not be prideful about our abilities. We can be attacked. We will be attacked. I thank God that He is here with us.