Wednesday, June 2, 2021

This. Means. War. (June 6, 2021)

We were just sitting there.  Nothing super spectacular.  Nothing really out of the ordinary.  Just sitting together, enjoying some down time, watching a movie before getting ready for bed.  Unprepared.  Innocent of what was about to happen.  Not ready.

But then we heard it.


The sound.


Like the faint call of trumpets being blown before battle or the mighty yell of a troop preparing to mount a siege, we heard it.  


The sound of my enemy.


Now, you might not recognize it as such.  You might hear the same noise and not know what was coming, but I did.  I had heard this before.  These were battle cries.

The pitter.  The patter.  The scratching.  The scampering.


I knew what these meant.  Instantly.  A fight was upon me.


Right at that moment I was taken back.  Back to a battle that I had fought in my early 20s.  Alone in my apartment, it was me against the enemy, and I came to learn that the enemy was shrewd.  Cunning.  Daring.  Not to be trusted.


You see, they had infiltrated my abode at that time, and I had mounted a counter-attack.  I had purchased some d-CON.  (This was the weapon of choice for my Grandpa in his barn.)  I had set my trap, laid my weapon out, put it into use, but do you know what happened?  Do you know what they did?  They used it against me!  The very same d-CON was moved, was placed into some of my Tupperware that I had in a drawer.  Not only that, but do you know what they put in the middle of it?  A cherry flavored Now and Later candy.  A sweet, delicious, piece of MY candy.  Right in the center of the d-CON.  


It was as if they were mocking me.  


“Here you go big fella.  This cherry Now and Later is so good and so sweet!  You can eat it.  Don’t you worry about a thing.  Go ahead.  It’s so good!  Oh yeah…try some of this green stuff too.”

Yes, from the moment when we heard the sound above our heads, I knew.  I remembered.  It was time.  The battle had resumed.  The enemy could not be trusted.  Not in the least.  This.  Meant.  War.


I knew that I would do whatever it took until my enemy had been defeated, until they had been vanquished.  I’d dust off my weapons of war and engage until that battle was complete.  Even though I didn’t feel like it.  Even though I wasn’t completely ready in that moment.  Even though I would rather just watch the movie and ignore the problem, hoping that it would take care of itself.  There would be no getting around it.  I was in the fight, and I would continue until it was over.


Pitter.  Patter.  Scratch.  Scamper.


Like the sound of swords clanging in the night.


The battle was upon me.


A mouse (or perhaps mice) had once again entered into my abode.


It was time to fight.


Now, don’t get me wrong.  I don’t “hate” my enemy in this case.  I don’t harbor any deep-seated angst.  I’m not vehemently opposed to field mice.  I just want them to stay in the field as their name implies.  You see, I thought we had an understanding.  A line drawn in the sand.  Boundaries that had been established that weren’t to be crossed.  I had agree that I would not pursue them if they remained on their side of the line.  I thought they had agreed to the terms as well, but the noise proved otherwise.  They had blown the battle horns, fired the first shots, they had breached the truce.


Pitter.  Patter.  Scratch.  Scamper.


I knew what those noises meant.  The mice had come.  They had come to chew up my wires.  They had come to leave little droppings on my counter.  They had come to shred my papers, to put holes in my clothing.  They had come to eat my food.  Not only that, but they had come to try to poison me and my family!  They had come to take any candy that we might have and place it right into a big ol’ pile of d-CON.  I could not have it.  There would be no rest until they have been vanquished to the fields once more.  There would be no ceasing from battle until I knew that their entire ranks had been defeated.  The war would rage on until they had been purged from our home.


Maybe I’m being extreme.  Maybe I’m over-reacting.  Maybe I should just relax and accept some kind of coexistence within our household.  Mice and humans peacefully living under the same roof.  What’s wrong with that picture?


Let me think about it.


Nope. 


I’m not over-reacting.  I’m not being extreme.


Here’s how I see things.  Field mice belong in the field.  I’m content to leave them there.  There will be no house mouse for me.  No peaceful coexistence within these walls.  There is a clear boundary mark, and once that has been crossed, the battle has begun.


So long as a mouse chooses to enter into my house, I will fight against that thing until it is here no more.


That’s it.  That simple.  I am at war with any mouse that chooses to sneak in here and try to eat my candy.


Pitter.  Patter.  Scratch.  Scamper.


This.  Means.  War.


I guess it’s one of the disadvantages of living by a field.  Sometimes a mouse decides that the house might be a nice place to live, but it’s a price that I’m willing to pay.  Plus at this point, I am familiar with the signs and the sounds that the battle has begun yet again.  If some paper is shredded up somewhere, I know what it means.  My eyes are able to distinguish the difference between some bugs that have died or some fuzz that has shed or some mouse droppings.  My ears are attuned to the typical noises of the walls creaking or of Silas walking around or of a bug bumping into a window.  I know the sounds of our dehumidifier, the air conditioner and the furnace.  I recognize the noise the ice maker makes when it dumps in another tray of frozen water.  Unfortunately, I also am familiar with the sound that a mouse makes in the ceiling.  I’ve heard it before.  I will be perfectly fine if I never hear it again, but if I do I have to be ready.


Ready whether I feel like it or not.

Ready whether I want to deal with it or not.

Ready whether I’m watching TV or taking a nap.

Ready in the mornin’.

Ready in the noontime.

Ready when the sun goes down.


Ever ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice.  Ready for battle the moment it begins.


I wonder.


What if we were this ready to fight our spiritual battles?

What if we were so familiar with the house of the Holy Spirit (i.e. our bodies…read 1 Corinthians 6:19) that whenever a sound was out of place, we would instantly recognize it and would be ready for battle?


  • We hear a voice whisper that we cannot trust God……..BOOM!  No thank you!  That doesn’t belong!  That’s not the voice of my Savior!  Ready to fight. 
  • We have a thought, “Surely it won’t hurt just this one time…” A suggestion to cheat on our taxes or to lust after something or someone or to do something that is contrary to God’s will…………BOOM!  No thank you!  That does’t belong!  That’s not the voice of my Savior!  Ready to fight.
  • We feel selfish or stingy or judgmental or greedy or prideful.  We feel worthless or useless or hopeless or doubt God’s love for us.  We feel like nobody would like us if they knew us deep down.  On and on and on……..BOOM!  No thank you!  That doesn’t belong!  That’s not the voice of my Savior!  Ready to fight.

What if we were even more aware of sounds of the attacks of our spiritual enemy than I am aware of the sound of a mouse?  What if we were so tuned into God that we instantly knew when something was off?  Can you imagine?

Here’s the thing, friend.  Whether you feel like it or not.  Whether you want to be or not.  Whether you think you will be successful or not.  You are in a battle.  You are in a fight.  You are in a spiritual war.  Remember what Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians:


For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

~ Ephesians 6:12


Do not fear the war.  Do not fear the battle, but realize that you are in a fight and be ready.  Just before this verse Paul says “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” (Ephesians 6:10)  He tells us that we are able to be strong.  Not in our own strength.  Not in our own abilities, but in the Lord.  Then, he lets us know that we will be given victory.  He says “…after the battle you will be standing firm.” (Ephesians 6:13)  You will be given victory.  How?  By putting on the armor of God.  By being ready.  By being prepared.  By being so familiar with God’s voice, with God’s Word that we would know when and how to fight.  (Read the whole account in Ephesians 6:10-18.)


Lines have been crossed.  Boundaries have been shattered.  You are in a fight.  Be ready.  Be confident.  Be strong in the Lord.  Know that the enemy is real, but you have victory through Jesus Christ.  Thanks be to God for giving us this victory!


So…the next time you hear…


Pitter.  Patter.  Scratch.  Scamper.


Know what it means.  This.  Means.  War.



~ Pastor Chris