So this is where it gets personal – Spiritual Warfare
All right.. so here is how my day started.
Up early 4:30AM to get off the ground by 6:15. I’m headed to the Gideon Media Arts Conference and Christian Film Festival May 30th through June 5th at Ridgecrest in North Carolina.
I get to the airport with my assistant Brittany and lo and behold, there is a problem with my reservation and the flight is full. I can’t even buy another ticket to get onboard.
I’m teaching Sunday morning service tomorrow for the folks at the Gideon and I know that this is the enemy laying out the start of his attack…
I try and get another flight, to no avail. I end up sending Brit on her way as her reservation was fine. Â Meanwhile, I remain in the airport trying to figure out how to proceed. I call my HOSFU Chief of Operations, Dr. Kolan Wright to see what we can do. We are on the phone for about an hour trying to get things squared away with Continental. Nothing,
So, of course I pray. Lord, you know it is the enemy attacking, I pray that you will keep me from his attacks and provide a way for me to make it to Asheville this afternoon.
The woman behind the counter at Continental tells me there are no other flights going to Asheville and that it is simply not going to be possible to get me there.
At the last minute, she tells me that she can get me on the flight but it is going to cost $1400.00 as opposed to my original ticket reservations for $395.00. I call my Chief of Ops and he says, “book it.” We start the process only to find that as we are closing out the transaction, Continental shuts down all reservations for the flight because they have started their boarding process.
I then asked if there were any other flights on any other airlines, to which she responds, you might check with Delta as they are the only other carrier from ABQ that is flying into Asheville. Continental gives me a “credit” for the flight that I was not able to get on because of whatever error and they charge me $150.00 for the change fee. So now I have no ticket, I’m out $150.00 and I’m scrambling to find a ticket for Asheville.
So I hustle over to the Delta counter where I’m met by two young ladies working behind the counter. They tell me that they do have a flight that arrives two hours later than my original flight and leaves 3 hours earlier on my return trip, but they CAN get me on it. Only catch? $791.00 as opposed to the original $395.00 we had originally booked through Continental.
So again, my Chief of Ops says “book it.” We begin the process at the counter to book the flight and right before our very eyes, Delta.com changes the fare from $791.00 to $1200.00. At this point we aren’t taking any chances. I book the flight and check my bags. So now, I’m down a total of $950.00 and the trip hasn’t even started yet.
So this my friends is Spiritual Warfare. This type of stuff happens to me all the time. I praise God for it. Satan wants to attack, but I say BRING IT ON fallen one. I have victory already in Christ Jesus, the King of Kings!
Remember that day Satan when the Christ declared “It is finished!” I’m sure you do. I want you to know that I’m not afraid of your attacks. The people at HOSFU and at Cloud Ten Pictures are all lovers of the Christ and they support the work that the King has called me to do.
So bring it.. bring your worst.. what are you gonna do? Send me home? I’m not afraid. Jesus Christ reigns and will forever be my only King! You have no hold on HIm. And He resides in me.
Facebook Comments
4 Comments
Leave a Response
You must be logged in to post a comment.
/victory dance.
Wow Eric. Sorry to hear about the challenges but Praise God you’re taking it all in stride.
How on earth does satan himself have control over flight plans? When the flight that you initially were going to go on, finally left the airport, it was full of people. What if that last person who got your seat was a business man whose wife went into early labor and had he not made the flight, then he would've had to wait days before getting home? Does that ever occur to you? Yes, the enemy can put thoughts into our mind and convince us to say or think bad things, but God is in control, and GOD allowed that error to occur, and God allowed that one extra person to make it to the destination instead of you. Satan is only one being, and can only be at one place at a time. Not to put you down, but I'm sure he has much more important things to do than overbook your flight. Your focus should be on praising God, than scorning Satan.
Comment #1 – Oh Victory in Jesus my Savior forever!
Comment #2 – Andre, God is good.. and He has a plan that is far greater than anything we could imagine. Eph 3:20-21
Comment #3 – Anonymous. Good question. I have much to say on this topic, but don't know that my blog is the best place for it. I will say that Scripture outlines three foes when it comes to Spiritual Warfare, 1. The devil and his demons (he doesn't operate alone)
2. The Kosmos (World System)
3. Our own carnal nature.
Also in Scripture are two words that I find fascinating. Dokimazo and Periazo. They both have to do with testing and tempting. The former is ALWAYS used of God in Scripture and has to do with the idea of being found worthy. The latter is NEVER used of God in Scripture and has to do with the idea of tempting to incite failure resulting in being shown unworthy.
Is God Sovereign? Absolutely. Testing Job was His idea. Does the enemy and his forces have some jurisdiction in this world? Yes. This is clearly shown in Scripture. Satan is a powerful creature, even Michael the Archangel would not debate with him over the body of Moses (Jude 9) But praise God the creation is always subject to the Creator… never the reverse.
My focus is ALWAYS on praising God. If you had seen my Facebook posts during this whole fiasco, you would have seen definite praise going to the Lord in spite of the Spiritual Warfare that was taking place. I'm not one to give undue credit, but I do believe that the enemy attacks and looks for ways to attack. Something about a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Anyhow, thanks for your comment and I'm sure we can agree to disagree on this subject. But know that Spiritual Warfare is real. Very real.. Paul spends a great deal of time addressing this issue as he was inspired to write by the Holy Spirit.