A Lesson from Bats, Bugs and Mice

Over the last few weeks, we've battled bats, bugs, and mice.

They all come with living in the country.

You want the country-life? Then, you get to battle these things, too.

Some problems are simply part of living.  

There are fixes, however.

We've employed all of them.

Bat traps.

Sealing any holes in the exterior of our house.

Bug bombs.

Raid.

A brand new Bissel "Little Green Machine" steamer.

Mouse traps. 

Two adorable kittens named Lucy and Ethel (see below). 

A professional exterminator.

These are the things you instinctively know to do when you live in out-of-the-way-country-places...

...but, bats, bugs, and mice are extremely annoying. 

These things cause frustration. 

They stir up the soul in a not-so-good-kind-of-way. 

Believe it or not, they are a light shade of "trial and trouble." 

But, it caught me off guard this week, when I mentioned our little war to an acquaintance, and she responded, "Obviously, you have been under some little bit of spiritual attack."

Spiritual attack?

This never crossed my mind.

Of course, the enemy will use anything in any way to tempt us toward sin, bad attitudes, and dealing with things incorrectly; but, spiritual attack?

Seriously, I don't think bats, bugs, and mice are deserving of being placed under that particular weighty category.

Some things happen to us just simply because we live in a real world where bad things do happen to good people.

Other things occur because our flesh gets in the way.

Yes, the enemy will work over time to attempt to come against anything that has to do with the gospel being promoted or anything that raises itself up against the knowledge of God, but not EVERY! THING! can be attributed to spiritual attack.

We actually had this conversation at dinner last night with our present company, and our discussion resulted in the following few thoughts. 

Just as living in the country often means bats, bugs and mice, so living in this world often means trials, heartaches, and problems of various kinds. 

And, none of this, necessarily, means the devil is sending these things our way to attack us, but he will use those things to tempt us into sinful responses...so, at all times we need to be on guard. 

As with most things, we can not over-exaggerate the problem, nor minimize-responsibility. 

So, just as we employ "fixes" for bats, bugs, and mice, we must also employ ownership for what we can do on our part to problem solve the, well, the problems life carries to our doorstep...

In all of this, however, we need to continuously be praying for wisdom, discernment, and God's direct divine intervention. 

And, finally, we must rehearse to our selves over and again that ALL things work for God in His economy...one day we will see exactly how. 

In the meantime, I love listening to this newest from Jordan St. Cyr: Rescue.