BOLD

I had an awful dream last night where I was in a house that was decaying all around. I went into a room and was looking to turn the light on, but then I saw the light fixture. It was hanging limply out of a moldy and battered ceiling. Two seconds after looking up, the light bulb slipped out of the fixture and fell to the ground. It went clink, clink as it bounced off the floor, but it didn’t shatter.

For some reason, I still tried to turn the light on, and the moment I flicked the switch, the ground beneath me began to shake, and I heard a loud and terrifying voice yell, “get out”. And then I was awake. Sweaty and breathing heavy, filled with fear from all that had just happened in my dream. Was this just a result of a vivid imagination, something weird I ate before bed or was it more?

Scripture is clear on who Satan is and what his purpose is on this earth. He is the author of lies who desires to deceive, kill, and destroy. He is ruthless and arrogant, and compassionless. He doesn’t care if it’s been a tough week for you; this is war. There is no fair in war. He doesn’t take days off. And I don’t say this to strike fear, but to remind ourselves. You may simply be driving home after a tough day, fuming over how terribly a coworker treated you, planning on how you can numb the day’s burden with endless episodes of Netflix, but Satan, our enemy, is looking for any way to kill, steal and destroy your life.

And he does it in the dark often, hidden and deceptive. So much so, we don’t even notice until the destruction is done.

Or, until we go to turn the lights on. And everything begins to shake.

The moment we open our eyes to his part in our lives, in this city, in this world, we shed the powerful light of Jesus on his schemes, and he can’t bear it.

Remember, the demons fell to their knees and cried out, “You are the Son of God” whenever they saw Jesus. In other moments they asked, “What business do You have with us? Have You come to torture us before the appointed time?” Matthew 8:29. They were fully aware of who Christ was and is and that their given authority came with restrictions – namely that it had to bow and flee in the face of Jesus’ authority and that it is on a time crunch. An end is coming to their rule and reign in this world, and these principalities will do anything to disrupt and destroy while they still have the chance.

So perhaps my dream wasn’t actually due to something I ate. Perhaps it was a wake-up call to the spiritual reality I’m walking in. Perhaps the house represents parts of my heart and life that I have let go dormant and abandoned – where I shut the door and didn’t let God in because I was embarrassed by the mold and the broken light fixture and all the crap I have yet to deal with. It’s the perfect environment for our enemy to hide, causing more destruction.

But no more.

It’s time to be bold.

It’s time to turn on the lights.

It’s time for US to be the LOUD, terrifying voice telling the things not of God to GET OUT. To BE GONE. To leave and NEVER COME BACK.

Where Satan heaps shame for the hidden things in your life, God is here to bring freedom.

Where Satan desires to cripple you with insecurity, fear and anxiety, God is here to bring joy, freedom, and peace. Where Satan has whispered discouragement, God is here to speak His truth and bring new life to all that has felt wilted and dead.

Let us turn the lights back on. Let us open the windows and let fresh air into the stale and dusty parts of our hearts. Let us evict the tenants in our minds that are not of God – all bitterness, all unforgiveness, all jealousy, all self-hatred, all fear. Let’s make room for the Holy Spirit to make all things new.

No more waiting until tomorrow or the day after that. No more settling for “oh it could be worse” or “I’m always going to be this way”. Be bold. Be brave. Be brash. Be absolutely brutal with the things of the enemy because this is war. There is no fair in war.

So rise up sons and daughters, out of your sleep, out of your complacency, out of your cynicism.

The time is now.