Battles and Wars

It’s a fact that we live in a war. A great cosmic war that is made up of many battles. Jesus battled constantly with Satan, sometimes in face-to-face combat like the temptations in the desert or at times subtle like the pull of his family to leave His crazy ministry. One of my favorite songs that I loved to sing in Juniors Sabbath school and on Pathfinder campouts is “The Battle Belongs to the Lord”. “We sing glory, honor, power, and strength to the Lord!” Also one of my favorite movies, “Radio” has this great line in it, which Coach Jones shares with his team before their first regular season game, “You win your battles, we’ll win our war.” Indeed at times it seems like I’ve lost a battle, but the war is not lost. Actually the war is already won, the end is decided. But wars still wage over each soul, and battles are constantly being fought to gain control of every destiny. On June 6, 1944 the Dooms-Day offensive was launched early in the morning. Americans, British, Canadians, Dutch, and others joined forces to land on the beaches and the forest on the French coast. Soon France was liberated, then Belgium. But the Netherlands remained under Nazi rule. Operation Market Garden was created to help liberate the country, and was a miserable failure. After such a miraculous battle on D-Day, such a crushing defeat, but as history tells us, the war was not lost, eventually the Nazi’s took the fall.
I haven’t told you much about my Fidard in a while. He is the one with I prayed often, and watched as God did some mighty victories in his life over alcohol and struggles in his marriage. I am still visiting and praying with him, but in the last few weeks haven’t seen much of him, because of an unpredictable schedule, on both our parts. Now that field work is done, he is often out doing odd jobs sometimes until late in the evening, so usually the weekend is the best time to see him. But recently someone died in his family so he had to go to Parakou then to his home village, and I hadn’t got to visit him. Well last night I did get the opportunity. I was going to work on something on the computer but decided to go visit him instead then come back and go to bed. I went over there, and found him and his wife intensely arguing, a child was crying, and I thought oops bad timing. But when he saw me things quieted down and we sat to talk. He said he just got back from the village. As we talked I smelled alcohol, I was so hoping it was just in the air, but no, it was his breath. Well it is tough, that’s what people do at funerals, dig graves and drink, many times to get their thoughts off death, it is overwhelming for someone without the hope of the resurrection (how privileged we are!). But he wasn’t overly stupefied so we could carry on a conversation, but it did mean he was very emotional. He told me the tragic story of his aunt’s death, how she was sick, and someone lit a fire in the room to keep her warm, and then he left to the river to get water. Her blanket touched the fire and caught on fire, and she was badly burned and soon after died. Another relative who is a border guard near Cotonou on the Togo border, was there helping. When Fabien came he didn’t know about the incident. The body was there, but he didn’t look under the covering over the corps. While they went to burry her, they asked him to stay and help prepare the meat, that is killing and skinning the goat. He found out later the whole story and that they hidden everything from him, and then someone told him that his grandma, when she was sick and dying was locked in her room and left to die, she cried out, but no one paid attention, and she passed away in this distress. He was obviously shaken up, his family had done this to his family, in other words it is all on his head! And his father did not say anything to him when he died. His father shared no last words, as is the custom when someone nears death. The border guard lady had asked Fabien, now what do you think? Fabien had no answer, what did he think about these terrible deeds? Then he asked me. Well I told him that when he gives his life to God, that God is much more powerful, but we live in a world of sin and bad things happen to everyone, life is not easy. I always share with the youth at church that the best way to help someone is to share what God is done in your life, not to recite what you read in this book or heard in this sermon recently. So I told him of my grandpa’s death in a car accident. I told him how I questioned; why did that dump truck come right at that moment, why did he take his seat belt off? Why? But so much on earth we can’t understand. Fabien seemed to understand, he said prayer would be our help. But he still was very distressed, and the alcohol didn’t help, as he usually gets very emotional with its help.
Then we prayed and right as we finished this white guy shows up, actually he was caucasion and dressed in a white shirt and khaki’s. I have seen him before when I was visiting another friend. And so now I would finally get to meet him. I always wondered about how influence works, Ellen White talks about it in the “Talents” chapter of Christ’s Object Lesson. That we our attitudes have an influence on others, without us even realizing it. As soon as this guy came, I could sense an indifference to me. It helped that Fabien already had talked to him about me, and that I was religious, how terrible. Of course when he pulled out a cigarette and asked me if it was okay, and then commented almost before I could answer, that well you know religious people…. Implying my stuffiness. Right from the get go I felt uncomfortable, embarrassed and frustrated at the same time. Uncomfortable and embarrassed at what my faith, how dreadful, this guy was not mean, but in his presence I felt all my confidence in what I believed sucked away. Frustrated because this guy had to come and befriend of all the people in Nati those who I had begun to pray and befriend! Well actually it makes sense, a guy who is not in God’s control is in Satan’s and so Satan would be more than happy to direct him to those whom I had contact with. I am nervous when dealing with Europeans. One is my French capabilities, with Africans I get along, their French is slower and not as developed (not that they are dumb, it’s the accent, and it is their second language as well). When Fabien commented that he missed prayer, he mumbled about how Fabien should just leave off, or forget those things of God. Well at least I know where he stands. Interestingly enough the last few days I’d been listening to Jeffery Rosario speak about reason and faith, and how we Christians are seen as dumb, because of “blind faith”, when in actuality God calls us to use our intellect for His glory. He chose the Bible to be the main revelation of Him, which is means reading and using our minds. We need to love God with everything, including all our mind! So here I was in the practical training. The man shared a funny story which the kids found hilarious. Obviously my stay was ended. Fabien asked me to come over the next day, which I will. I thought it real sad, how we’d lost this battle, he’d been drinking, fighting with his wife, and doubting his faith, but the war is not lost. I really didn’t expect to deal with secular Europeans here, sure I knew there would be supernatural struggles, fetishes, demon worship, and the lot, but the influence of atheists, agnostics and what not, that is a twist! But the good thing is that here the common belief is that to not believe in God is to be ridiculous, so I may have an easier time that this man who says religion is not worth anything. But I don’t think he is proselytizing! I am glad that I do not fight against flesh and blood, if so I’d take up boxing or something! But the fight is spiritual so I bring a mind filled with the Bible and a heart filled with Jesus!