Administrator
As 2018 dawned, I was excited about life. My wife was pregnant with our first child, I had received a Christmas bonus and a hand-written note from the boss. I was ready to grow the company’s communications presence after a successful 2017.
Sure, there were challenges. My wife had just left a position with a company that was downsizing because they didn’t have enough revenue. She was the most expensive and last-hired employee, and she was dealing with morning sickness. We figured she would find a new job quickly.
That was a year and two weeks ago. Today, my trust in God is rebounding from what may have been a lifetime low. Professional and personal setbacks, sleep deprivation from the infant, two job offers to my wife revoked (one because of the pregnancy), a Christmas “vacation” that was more like Christmas Vacation, and more have weighed me down. Things didn’t stop in 2018; a massive potential setback reared up on December 31 which took a week to address.
The big bright spot has been my wife’s support and trust, and her unending faith in God.
It was with all of this in mind that I wrote the first draft of this piece. The focus was on how it must be great to have the gig of being God — to be able to make humanity, tell us we’re going to suffer, and make a rule that any anger with their Creator is sinful. I largely dismissed Satan’s involvement in my 2018 goings-on because God is more powerful than the Devil.
However, last Sunday’s reading from Acts reminded me of the realities of spiritual warfare and that Satan is, indeed, a regular part of the Christian life.
What A Difference A Week Makes
A week ago, this piece closed by asking where God was for my family in 2018. However, two insights have left me suddenly recognizing solid spiritual growth in the mess that was 2018.
First, my family’s illness over Christmas was my fault. I didn’t listen to my wife — a nurse! — as I was falling ill. As a result, my daughter and wife got sick. Our Christmas travel was far more arduous than it had to be. And we had to spend money and time focusing on healing (including four hours at an urgent care center due to post-Christmas crowds) instead of relaxing while with my family.
This was a valuable lesson in maturing as a spouse and father — my actions have consequences beyond myself.
But what about the macro picture? Sunday’s Acts reading provided the answer:
“[Peter] went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”
This hit me like a ton of bricks. Many acts of healing in the New Testament — often by Peter or Christ — are directed to those whose afflictions are not their own. Christ states as much. And while I’m no biblical expert, it is reasonable to believe that since free will or sin isn’t mentioned, Satan’s oppression of those whom Peter healed was not due to their own fault(s).
The same is true of Job. He was attacked by Satan for being too good. And Christ was attacked, spit on, and killed despite being perfect.
I’ve always been suspicious of “spiritual warfare.” As a direct and concrete person, it was never right in front of me. (Which, I suppose, is how Satan succeeds.) A friend’s difficulties a few years ago convinced me of its reality, and Sunday’s reading reminded me to broaden my horizons when looking at how difficult my family had it in 2018.
I can’t say, “Bring it on, 2019.” I’m not quite enough recovered from last year. But I’m getting there.
image: wael alreweie / Shutterstock.com
