Blog

This week, we’re taking a break from the tough questions we’ve been covering, so that we can share stories of how God is working in and through our lives.

In these first three months of 2014, I have had a few opportunities to speak at different events. My first opportunity was in January, and I was scheduled to be the speaker at the monthly meeting of Get Real inC in Findlay, OH, a mentoring ministry for teenage girls that I’ve been involved in for three and a half years. The meeting was on a Tuesday evening, and I had my talk prepared more than a week in advance. But, on the Sunday before the meeting, I came down with the respiratory flu. Needless to say I had to back down from being the speaker for that meeting. The local leaders of Get Real were able to fill in and still have the meeting so the teenagers could meet and be encouraged for that month.

I got better from the flu after a week or so, and my speaking at Get Real was rescheduled for the following month’s meeting, in February. The day before the meeting, I started getting a sore throat and some head congestion, and my first thought was, “Oh no, not again!” I really couldn’t bail on them two months in a row!

The day of my talk, I woke up with a terrible migraine. I am prone to both colds and migraines so these things are not unusual for me, but to have both happen at the same time, right before I’m supposed to share God’s Word with these teenagers? That seemed like more than coincidence, especially after my sickness the previous month. Normally my medication for migraines will knock one out in one dose. After taking the maximum two doses plus some over-the-counter meds, it was absolutely no better. I could barely function; how was I supposed to deliver a coherent talk?

With many people praying for me (and my own prayers), I was able to get to the meeting and give my talk - titled “How to Read the Bible.” While I was giving the talk, the migraine was basically gone! After my talk ended, it came back, though not as bad as before.

Fast forward a couple more weeks, to a Friday morning. I was scheduled to be the speaker for a junior high retreat at a church camp that entire weekend. All four of my talks (plus a workshop session) were all ready to go, and I was looking forward to the experience. That morning, my shoulder started itching. Then my chest was itchy, and kept getting worse. By the time I was supposed to leave home, my entire chest and stomach were red with spots and extremely itchy. I wasn’t wearing any unusual clothes, and I hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary. I’m not prone to getting rashes of any sort, and it’s not the season for any kind of bug bites. What was going on?

The itchy rash continued the entire weekend, with a vengeance. No anti-itch cream or anything else I could find would provide any relief. But again with my prayer, I was able to persevere through the weekend, and have a pretty good time too.

By this time, I’m pretty certain that I was being spiritually attacked with physical consequences. The devil was definitely trying to derail me speaking God’s Word on each of these occasions.

I had one more speaking engagement coming up, which was doing two breakout sessions at a weekend-long local women’s retreat. I have to admit I was a little paranoid of what would happen that day, and I was more than a little surprised when I woke up that morning with absolutely nothing wrong with me physically! My sessions went wonderfully and God definitely spoke through me. But on Sunday after the retreat ended, I came down with as bad of a migraine as back in February when I spoke at Get Real.

So what’s the point of me writing all of this for you? When you are following God’s will for your life and making Him known, the devil will try and stop you. I was definitely a threat to Satan’s hold on people, by sharing God’s Word with those who are eager to learn more about it.

Throughout all of this, I kept the following passage in mind, from 1 Peter 5:8-10:

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”

If you feel like you’re being attacked, stand firm in your faith! Others are right there with you in your trials. Know that God will restore you one day, and that your suffering is worth it to bring glory to God’s name. God will be glorified in every situation!