It saddens me deeply as I read about the continuing unrest in Ferguson, MO. The rioting. The looting. The damage to businesses. All of this is taking place in the black community. And it's being done by black people. But, the anger is toward the predominately white police department and more specifically the white officer involved in the shooting.
So why destroy the black community? The people are already hurting. They are already suffering. Why worsen an already tenuous situation with rioting and looting?
That's how the enemy of the soul works.
The devil's MO in Ferguson is unmistakable. He takes a situation and liberally dowses the emotional fire with the most flammable accelerant in our society -- racism. And he watches as those emotions -- anger, disgust, hatred, unrest -- dominate our thinking and push aside our reasoning.
It's time to do something about this, we say to ourselves. It's time to find a way to stop such senseless tragedy. So we protest. Peacefully. We march. Peacefully. We bring in people like Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson to speak for us. We bring in people who will continue to add liberal doses of the accelerant. The emotional fires must continue to burn.
Bravo. Bravo. The enemy of the soul relishes these times of agreement with his plans. He sits down in his easy chair and unwraps his favorite cigar and pours a glass of his finest wine. The first part of his plan is going very, very well.
Others also think it time to do something. Are we going to continue to let white America treat us this way? No, we're not. It's time to show them we are not doormats to be walked on. So we riot. In the black community. We loot. In the black community. We damage businesses. In the black community. We threaten retaliation. In the black community.
Bravo. Bravo. This time the enemy of soul calls for the principalities responsible for this region of the country and their lieutenants. It's time to celebrate. He has been able to capture the thoughts of those with the most anger, the most hostility and the most hatred. They are the ones doing the real damage to the community. All he needed was an accelerant.
The devil, diabolos, is the master politician. He plays both sides of the isles. The peaceful protesters and the uncontrolled rioters -- both helped to facilitate his plans in Ferguson. The devil works behind the scenes, in the realm of the spirit, to prepare the way for tragedies like Ferguson, MO to manifest in the world we see. Marching will not stop him. Protesting will not stop him. Rioting strengthens him. Looting strengthens him.
If the devil is using "both sides of the isles" to keep racism a major "spiritual force" in our society, WHO on earth has the power and authority to stand toe to toe with him so that Ferguson, MO becomes less and less common?
Christians. We are the only ones capable of stopping a foe who has already been defeated (Colossians 2:15). But so many of us are clueless about the devil's MO. We don't recognize his attacks. We don't recognize his movements. All we see are the people executing his plans. It's time to look beyond the faces we see. It's time to look at the one "pressing the buttons" and "pulling the strings." Remember when Peter chastised Jesus for saying he was going to cross to die? What Jesus said goes unnoticed by many in the Body of Christ: "Get thee behind me Satan." It was Peter talking but Satan influencing what he said.
Do you think it's any different today? Do you believe that Satan no longer operates this way? He does.
As sons and daughters of God, we have to stand up and live according to who we are. We have to confront the enemy of the soul where we can defeat him. When the devil had his face-off with Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus' response to his temptations was simple: "It is written."
What is written for us today? In John 6:63 Jesus said "the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." Right now, "death" is reigning in Ferguson. We need to bring "life" to Ferguson. How do we bring "life" to Ferguson? We speak "life" into Ferguson. We speak against the operations of the devil. We speak against the principalities that have dominated it.
When we speak life, we give our Heavenly Father access to our authority to move in that community in a way that calms the emotions and changes attitudes. Today, give your Heavenly Father what He needs -- your authority -- so He can use His power in Ferguson.
