Silence
the Enemy!
I have given you authority…to
overcome all the power of the enemy;
Luke 19:19
On the way home from an exhausting day,
Jerry wondered if it was his son on the cell phone with Nan. “Is
that Alan?”
“Yes…He says ‘Hi Dad!’.” Nan
relayed her son’s greeting.
“Hi Son,” he returned. “Ask him
if he has any blank CDs…and would he mind dropping off a couple on
his way to work in the morning?”
She forwarded Jerry’s request and
received Alan’s response. “Alan says ‘Sure’ but you could
stop by and get them tonight.”
Tired, and misunderstanding Alan’s
response, Jerry reacted impatiently, “I don’t want to stop by
tonight! Tell him forget it! If he doesn’t want to drop them off in
the morning I’ll find a couple, myself!”
“What’s wrong with you?!” Nan
asked, surprised by Jerry’s attitude. She covered up the receiver,
“You don’t have to act like that. He was just saying you could
come get them in case you wanted them before morning!” She listened
into the phone again, “He wants to know what’s wrong…he doesn’t
understand your reaction. Neither do I!” she spat. “He was just
trying to help!”
The car filled with deafening silence;
Jerry stewing in misery over the actions of his weariness; Nan in the
wounding of her son by the man she loved.
†
The malady of events that lead to rash
behavior when we fail to think ahead of our actions can leave deep
wounds and build resentment, creating a wedge in our relationships.
Jerry loved his son with a deep and
abiding love. He knew Alan would never shrug off his request. It
wouldn’t have been a big deal to swing by Alan’s house; but Jerry
allowed weariness to cloud his thoughts.
Nan, stuck between the two men in her
life, couldn’t comprehend or condone Jerry’s conduct. Both
considering separate terms of reckoning, suffered unnecessarily.
We have a choice in these matters:
reconcile, and begin the healing through apology and forgiveness, or
remain under the enemy’s control. All silencing the enemy requires
is laying down our pride and taking up our God-given authority.
Prayer
“Forgive me, Father, for
the way I indiscriminately wound because of my thoughtless behavior.
Help me think ahead so I can avoid injuring others. In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.”
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