Beyond the Tree
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9 NKJV)
Craig and I couldn’t retreat fast enough from that experience with the ominous voice that appeared to be everywhere at once. The voice and the words that we heard, and felt, haunted us so much over the next several days that we didn’t even talk about what had happened. We went on with our lives as if nothing had ever happened. Yet, something had happened, and neither of us could get it out of our thoughts. We didn’t know it at the time, but this event would be life-shaping. Neither of us would ever be the same.
Most believers today are of the opinion that spiritual warfare is nothing more than arguing doctrine with the church down the street. The thought of demons coming against us, and angels standing in the gap for us is so science-fiction-like that we often make fun of those believers who talk about spiritual warfare as if it were real. To be honest, I was one of those people at this point in time. Make no mistake, spiritual warfare is very real and simply choosing to ignore it is to give the advantage to the enemy. This was a powerful spiritual truth that we would learn in some very personal ways.
I often remind the church that I pastor that Satan has two main objectives. First and foremost, Satan wants to keep the lost person lost. Satan doesn’t want anyone to enter into a personal, saving relationship with Jesus Christ, and he will use whatever means possible to prevent even the hearing of the Gospel. Second, Satan wants to keep the Believer ineffective. Satan wants all Believers to be carnal, lazy, and compromising. Satan wants us to walk around without a clue as to all that he is doing in this world.
Just over a week after encountering the voice, very early on a Saturday morning, Craig and I set out once again. This time we were determined to see what lay beyond that tree. Thinking that we were being clever, we parked in a neighborhood about half a mile from the driveway. Between us and the driveway was a large, wooded field that we believed would be our covering. Our brilliant plan was to approach the driveway through the woods, sneaking up on whatever it was that lay beyond that tree that blocked the driveway. Our hope was that we could get our first view beyond the tree without being seen. That was the plan, but as is usually the case, the plans that we make in haste tend to also fall apart just as quickly.
Craig and I cautiously made our way to the far edge of the woods where we finally would see what lay at the end of the driveway. For the first time we were able to see the old farmhouse and the yard that the driveway turned into. From the perceived safety of our wooded covering Craig and I began to carefully observe, as best we could, the house and the yard. The old farmhouse was still standing but it was worn, beaten, and scarred by many years (decades) of neglect and the constant pounding of Midwestern weather. It was a two-story house, but the top floor appeared to be a single room with windows facing all directions.
The yard, as you would expect, was overgrown with grass and weeds that appeared to be knee high. Still, even from the woods we could clearly see a series of paths where the grass and the weeds were trampled down. This appeared to be an obvious sign that these paths were still being used, and most likely rather recently. We could see a path leading to the front of the porch, another path that appeared to wrap around the old farmhouse, and another path that appeared to head out into the middle of nowhere.
Confidence can be a dangerous thing, especially when it is misplaced. Our confidence in regards to the driveway and the house was extremely high. We once again felt invincible. We were convinced that we had taken some big steps in solving the mystery of the house. That confidence led our decision-making process, and it clouded every instinct we had telling us to leave good enough alone.
The smartest choice would have been to retreat to our car after seeing the house. The worst possible choice would have been to leave the covering of the woods and get any closer to the house. Guess what choice we made!?!
Come back next time as we approach The Front Porch.
Visitor Comments (0)
