I am tired already. I came back from vacation tired. Apparently a body this age does not do as well with even a small amount of jet lag as one would hope. I did pretty well at recovering over the first weekend at home, but one thing and another have happened this week to make the first three days at work seem like an entire week.
The week started shortly after 6:00 AM on Monday with a call from the director of the mission telling me the fire alarm had gone off--meaning that I needed to get to work as soon as possible. Of course I knew it was just one of my mighty men burning bacon or something, but I nonetheless hurried out the door after also taking a call from the police dispatcher who was under the impression we did not yet know what had happened. I was almost fully awake by the time I made the drive to the mission. When I arrived the Santa Maria fire department confirmed what I had thought, laughed about our lack of cooking skills, and headed back to the fire station.
Monday evaporated as Mondays have a tendency to do in catching up with the needs of a dozen men from the weekend, and doing a few extra pieces of work this particular Monday for various reasons (including the fire alarm). Try as I might, I still was not able to sleep through the night Monday night. I was awake in the middle of the night writing a position paper for some gentlemen who have various levels of oversight or interest in my life. That paper is still in the works. As a point of instruction, it is always wise to proofread what one writes in the wee hours of the morning. I am almost ready to send that paper out.
As a result of that middle-of-the-night respite from sleep, Tuesday found me struggling through the day to stay alert. It did not help that Tuesday also started with a little frustration caused by a miscommunication with a co-worker from the evening before. That situation did get resolved by the time I left for the day. Fortunately I managed to escape before the CEO showed up for the advisory board meeting.
We had company for dinner so of course we did a special middle of the week meal. The barbecued tri tip was pretty good, if I do say so myself. The after dinner conversation went on for over four hours. For much of that time I was defining some of the workings of the religious spirit and what some of the anticipated results will look like when we win. He was interested, but seemed to be more interested in where we were in our lives. It is hard to say what the results of that meeting will be, but it will be interesting to find out.
God is putting together an army. My job right now is to make you aware there is a battle going on. Because spiritual battles are intangible, most folks are not even aware they are going on. Even many who do understand that do not entirely grasp the magnitude of this battle. The religious spirit in this valley has been having his way for much too long. One thing our guest did say is that our church is being populated by people who have been battered, bruised, and beaten by the religious spirit we are talking about. He did not use that term, nor would most of those bruised, battered people. There really is no doubt about who the aggressor is in these kinds of situations. He has to be one of the minions of he who comes to steal and to kill and to destroy. (John 10:10)
We try to shrug off disappointments and, as most of you know, we have had lots of practice doing that. As I have mentioned before, in the past five months or so I have moved from frustration in not knowing what I was supposed to be doing, to apathy where I simply did not care what happened, to peace, in that I now know what I am supposed to be doing and I am doing it. Our heart's desire for each and every one of the readers of this blog would be that you too would know that you are exactly where you are supposed to be, doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing. When you find that place, God will be able to work in your life in ways you probably never thought possible. The Bible tells us, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Corinthians 2:9) If you can imagine it, God can do more. He is only waiting for you to partner with him. Start today. As you begin to do that, please remember the battle is bigger than you are. Join with us in seeking God's direction as to how to engage the enemy and prosecute this battle. God bless.
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