Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7……(then) …. whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8 NIV
An alert from American Airlines interrupted my lunch last week as I was checking email. Something to the effect that bad weather might disrupt our travel plans two days later, on the Friday. The airline offered to change our plans at no cost.
The possibility of weather problems had not crossed my mind. Immediately Satan suggested all sorts of bad scenarios meant to distract me. We were flying to Charlottesville, Virginia to care for grandkids so their parents could visit El Paso to look at houses. This weather event would affect their flights as well.
Recognizing that I was beginning to fear the worst, I forced myself to go on the counter-attack. I reminded myself that:
- The Lord has these trips already planned out.
- He has stockpiled provisions we will need.
- His plans are always best.
Satan stepped up the momentum. But I strengthened my resolve, asking the Lord for supernatural help to fight back. What came to mind was the promise that if I resist the devil’s suggestions about our future, he will flee.
I kept up my trifecta of truth. I declared out loud: I can’t stop these lying images from entering my imagination, but I will immediately respond with what I know to be true.
And so, I waged war.
I had to continue resisting Satan’s lying thoughts longer than I anticipated. When we got to the airport last Friday, weather turned out not to be the problem. But there were others.
The flight had a mechanical issue. We deplaned and waited in line to consult with the gate agent about connecting flights. He booked us on a flight out of Charlotte, North Carolina for an airport 75 minutes away from our destination. Presumably, we could Uber from there to Anne and Wes’ house. But by the time we landed in Charlotte, that flight had been cancelled.
By grace, we had already thought of renting a car in Charlotte. Sure enough, that turned out to be Plan C. But would there be any rental cars available? We kept praying. Sure enough, the Lord’s stockpiled grace included a rental car that we could drop off at the Charlottesville airport the next day.
Knowing our delay, our son and daughter-in-law dropped off the children with a friend and headed to Washington, DC for their flight. We picked up the kids 6 hours later than our original itinerary. Whew! Finally, we were in the house with the kids and their dog. But God’s grace did not end there.
Wes and Anne’s flight was delayed and they had to spend the night in Houston, Texas. God’s stockpiled grace for them included a $400 credit with the airline. And Anne, who is 31 weeks pregnant, got to bed earlier than they had planned. They arrived in El Paso the next morning in time to meet the real estate agent. And saved one day’s worth of rental car expenses.
What did I learn? Like a 2×4 to the head was the realization ‘What a waste of emotional energy, worrying about anything. The weather event evaporated.’
This experience showed me once more that victory over sinful fear and worry comes by means of exercising our trust in our good God who does all things well, though not always the way we would like.
John, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote about this very scenario the four of us lived through : (and I paraphrase) ‘Our prevailing over Satan, the flesh and the world is a done deal. It is scripted that we conquer Satan and fear by means of taking God at his word and doing the next thing at hand.’
And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 1 John 5:4 ESV
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