Hello my friends,
“Life is not a Sunday School picnic. It’s a war for the souls of men.” I heard a man (Carter Conlon) say that many years ago and it has stuck with me. This morning as I was taking a jog around the park, those words came to me again.
Each year that passes makes me more aware of the reality of the “war.” It is not just a war for the souls of those who do not claim to know God—it is a war for my own soul, and for the souls of all who profess to know Christ intimately. The “enemy” does everything in his power to disrupt our lives and captivate our hearts. He has no power over us, but loves to lure us away from true happiness and to taunt us when we are suffering or weak.
As I reflect on the many, many, MANY, things I will give special thanks for this year on Thanksgiving, number one on my list is that Christ has kept me safe in the midst of the war. What I mean is that even in the midst of difficult circumstances He has enabled me to maintain faith. His faithful love has kept me and my wonderful husband safe from true harm—even when our physical bodies were failing, and our hearts were heavy from uncertainty or pain. He has protected us from both the luring and the taunting (though we have felt both).
My thoughts and prayers are with the many (far too many!) who are on the front lines right now—specifically my friends who are suffering with illnesses like cancer. May God keep them in faith and strengthen them as they fight so that at this time next year they too can say, “He kept me.” Regardless of where we are in the fight—front lines on the battlefield or in charge of communications—God will keep us safe from true harm.
For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. ~2 Corinthians 4:6-10
Much love,
Stephanie
