COVID-19, COVID-19, COVID-19!  Are you tired of the acronym for Corona Virus Disease 2019?   Even my grandson, who was three at the time,  told me we could not go to the park because there was “crona birus.”  

Because of this strange period of time we are in, I have seen little of my grandchildren who live in North Carolina and Louisiana. More than ten months passed without seeing their sweet faces.  Gaylon and I made a decision that it was time to see those precious children, so this past weekend, we drove to Hickory, North Carolina, to see Mr. Tucker Bryan Benton.   Tucker stayed in the hotel with us, and let’s just say he kept things hopping!  He is an energizer bunny  and Dennis the Menace rolled into one!  He is so much fun.  

On Saturday night as we went to bed, Gaylon and I  were both exhausted.   Papa and Grammy are not spring chickens anymore!   Tucker was already asleep, and around 11:45, Gaylon and I retired for the evening.   About 6:00 in the morning, I heard something.  In the quietness of the dark room, I listened carefully and heard it again and again.  Then, I heard a slightly different sound, followed by voices.  In my muddled state of mind, I wondered what was happening.

Then, it dawned on me that someone was trying to get into our room!  I whispered to my husband Gaylon, “Someone is at our door.”  He responded in his own muddled state, “What do you want me to do?”  What do I want him to do?!  Isn’t he the mighty warrior?   (He declares that he meant what did I think was the best plan of action.) 

I got out of my bed and walked to the door.  Through the crack of the door I said, “Go away.  You have the wrong room!”  I wasn’t too sweet about it.   I know you readers would have been so polite, but I was authoritative.   The person on the other side of the door had been slipping their key card in and out, and turning the handle, then talking aloud about how it didn’t work.  After I stood in authority, the ones on the other side of the door left!

How often does the enemy disrupt our peace in life?  He comes to our dwelling, and wants to move in.  James was very clear how to handle this.  “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” – James 4:7.     

First of all, let me go on record as saying there is a real devil…BUT, there is also a real God!   As believers who have been born again and empowered by the Spirit of God, we have authority over the devil and his imps.  Too often, we open the door and say come on in!  We have seen the devil increase his presence in America, and he’s not even subtle with it anymore.  It is time to submit to God, and to resist the devil!   Submitting to God must happen first or we have no authority.

Resisting the devil is not just about doing all night prayer meetings and hanging crosses throughout the home.  It is to submit to God, walk away from temptation, and stop living as the world lives. The power of darkness itself is subject to the resurrection of Christ. The only power it has over us is what we give it.

I have made a decision and hope you will join me by making your own decision.  It is time to stand at the door and serve notice on the devil.  You have no authority here.   None!   It is time for the Church to rise up in America, SUBMIT TO GOD,  and resist the devil.   I am going to defend the ground that has already been gained for my family and my city, and I am going on the offensive to take new ground by breaking the strongholds of Satan. 

I was really tired that morning in the hotel when an intruder wanted to come into my space.  I was tired enough to say, “No more!  You are not coming in.”  It required movement from my place of rest to assert authority, but the alternative wasn’t even an option.  Why wasn’t it an option – because I wasn’t just protecting myself, but I was protecting my grandchild. 

Child of God, it is time!  I know some of us are tired and don’t really want to arise. It is time to strengthen our hands for war. It is time to stop the double mindedness that has infiltrated God’s people.   It is time to have an urgency about us.  It is time to close the door on the devil.  Do it for yourself, do it for your family, do it for the country, do it for God’s Kingdom.

Devil, stop right there!

“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.”  – 1 Peter 5:8-10