by Marilynn Chadwick
We’re wrapping up our series on “Fasting.” I hope you’ve experienced a breakthrough in some area where you've felt stuck. The Bible encourages us to pray and fast when we encounter stubborn resistance. Could it be that some battles are harder than others because the enemy knows the stakes are so high?
My epiphany came one day in a parking lot, of all places. I was heading home after a quick run for coffee with my husband. From a distance, we saw what appeared to be an aggressive bird battle under some nearby cedar trees. As we got closer, we saw the target of this assault was a very large hawk. His noisy attackers were about half a dozen black crows. The angry birds darted in and out, fiercely attacking the hawk.
I have heard that hawks can slice the eyes of their opponents with one swipe from their razor-sharp talons. I, for one, would never mess with a hawk. So what motivated a bunch of pesky crows to be so reckless in their assault? Looking closer, I realized the hawk had some kind of rodent in his clutches. The hawk’s "hands were tied," so to speak, and he couldn’t defend himself. The black birds knew it and so they were daring and relentless.
Not to be outwitted, the hawk suddenly swooped up and sought refuge in the dense and prickly branches of a nearby cedar where he was finally able to enjoy his lunch, uninterrupted.
So what’s the point? Those blackbirds didn’t attack the hawk just to ruin his day. That hawk had something the crows wanted. A nice meal in the form of a freshly caught animal. Predators come after their victims because they want what they have.
Perhaps you feel as if you've been fighting unseen enemies that come at you from all sides like a pack of crows. The battle has been fierce. My question for you is simply this: What do you have that the enemy wants?
Perhaps he wants to steal your dream. Even a dream that seems ordinary can have far reaching kingdom impact. The enemy doesn’t know your future, but he sniffs out your destiny just like those crows sniffed out the hawk’s catch.
I think back to our long years of infertility and the fierce fight to have a child. I couldn’t have known at the time that I was waging a battle, not just for our firstborn daughter, but also for our next baby, a son. Then another son. Now ten grandchildren. Our daughter once remarked, “Mama, you didn’t know when you were going through infertility that you were fighting for all these people to be born.” The fight was fierce because the enemy wanted what I had. The promise of children. And grandchildren who would glorify God. And generations beyond those.
But friends, I had something else the enemy wanted. And so do you. He wanted to steal my testimony. He wanted to make it impossible for me to tell the miraculous story of God’s healing which enabled me to have those babies and grandbabies. He wanted to rob me of the chance to encourage others who are waiting for answers to their own prayers.
Quite simply, the devil wants to steal the story God is weaving through your dream. Or through this trial you're enduring so bravely. He wants to steal your testimony. Ultimately, he wants to steal God's glory.