TGIF

I know that I do not war against flesh and blood alone. There is a spiritual war going on around all of us every day, even if we can't see it.
Ephesians 6:12 says: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

I can attest to this today. I woke up hoping that today would be a great day. It's Friday. It has been unseasonably warm for January in Michigan. It's pay day! I get to wear jeans to work today. I was at a great Bible study last night with some sweet girls. I had a 2 hour nap yesterday. And The Queue is tonight (the young adult group at my church). 

But what I found out is that the enemy is no respecter of my perfect Friday I had in mind.
At about 3 am I woke up to my mom having a severe asthma attack. Every once in a while her throat just closes up and she has a very hard time breathing. She has always been able to calm down and catch her breath thus far, but it is still terrifying.

On my way to work I decided to treat myself to a Starbucks coffee. I have been trying to cut back on spending money on things that are not necessary. After I had ordered my coffee, the cashier swiped my card, and got that look on her face. That look that says "I don't know how to politely tell you that your card was declined." She was so sweet about it, but I was still annoyed. It's pay day and my check is directly deposited into my account at midnight... how is that possible. Thankfully I was able to scrape together enough change in my car to afford the coffee and drive away annoyed.

I hoped that I would still be able to pull myself out of the funk of being told by a stranger that you are broke, but I was not optimistic. And I was right. I went home from work early yesterday because I was not feeling well, and I was praying that it wasn't turning into something more serious. When I woke up I felt mostly fine, but not too long into my work day I started feeling sick again. I was prepared though, I brought along some water and saltine crackers.

Knowing that I would never be able to pull myself out of this funk, I escaped to the basement lunch room a little early, knowing there was a good chance that I would be alone in the room for a little while at least. I am reading through Isaiah right now, but was reminded of the Ephesians verse above. There is a reason why these things have happened today. It is no coincidence that things happen. There are forces around us that want to dump us in the gutter and keep us there as long as possible, hoping that we will not glorify God in our pain. I refuse to allow the enemy of my soul to stop me from enjoying this glorious day that the Lord has blessed me with!