Separated...

There's a random thought that has been rolling around in my head for a couple of weeks. I'm not sure I'll be able to convey what I mean, but I pray my words are given in love.

To be honest, all that is going on overwhelms me. I have talked to God more than once saying I was ready to go home when He was ready for me. But God reminded me that I was born during this time for a reason. Perhaps we were born for such a time as this. Someone has to stand up to injustice, just as Esther did.
Esther 4:14

For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance shall arise for the Jews from elsewhere, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows but that you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this and for this very occasion?

Never has it been more evident that we have an enemy who comes to steal, kill, and destroy and it is not a person, not flesh and blood. Our enemy hates us because God loves us, so he wants to destroy. The best way to do that is to separate us.

First came a pandemic that forced us to separate from each other - to isolate ourselves. The communication that we received wasn't face to face - it was filtered through news media and yes, through social media. We couldn't look each other in the eyes and see the other person's heart. We were separated and it became easier to pick off the most vulnerable.

The next part occurred with the murder of George Floyd. What should have brought us together instead has caused people to look at each other in mistrust. It reminds me of the battle that Gideon watched as the soldiers began to turn on each other. They destroyed each other and from what I see on the news, that is pretty much what seems to be happening again.
Judges 7:22

22 When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords.

My thoughts traveled once again to the separation. During the Nazi occupation, they moved the Jews into areas called "ghettos" under the pretense it was for their own "protection." We can now see what a lie that was. Once they separated the people, it was easier to paint them as the enemy. This reminds me so much of what seems to be happening now. The more we are separated, the easier it is for the enemy to paint people groups as the enemy, whether based on skin color or political leanings. The enemy continues to work to separate us.

We, as children of God need to recognize the tactics of the enemy. We must actively refuse to turn on each other and instead turn to God, lifting each other up in prayer, crying out for His intervention and for His reformation and divine justice in the earth.

The government isn't our enemy. The person who has a different color skin from me is not my enemy. As hard as it is to understand, even the person shouting out hatred and slurs is not our enemy. Our enemy is not flesh and blood but he is very real and the only way we can defeat him is to turn to God and repent for OUR (not your, or my, but OUR) wicked ways. And it begins with me.

Well, I'm not being separated anymore. When you see me, I'll be wearing my mask, but look into my eyes. Feel free to talk to me. It's much more difficult to hate when we get to know each other and love each other despite of how we are different. And I will pray and do battle, not against flesh and blood but with the enemy of our souls.

We may not agree politically or about all issues or even about whether or not to wear a mask, but I will fight tooth and nail for you my brothers and sisters. I won't yell. I won't argue. I will fight on my knees.

Once again, I pray people can hear my heart. If you disagree - that's okay. Don't expect me to argue. I've got a real enemy to fight.

Photo by Jordan Rowland on Unsplash