Stomp!

If you’ve lived in the world of charismania for very long you’ve sung a bunch of songs about the devil. When I was a little girl, I learned that:

 The devil is a sly ol’ fox, if I could catch him I’d put him in a box,

I’d take the box and throw away the key for ol’ those tricks he’s played on me.

This was followed by hand clapping to a rousing chorus of:

I’m so glad I’ve been converted (3x just in case the first didn’t take) I’m trusting in the Lord.

I guess they are still teaching this meaningful song to children. You really should check out this little boy singing it. He hasn’t been converted though, he got salvation. See it here, it’s adorable.

I suppose this song is supposed to build up ones faith just like the more adult versions such as:

I went to the enemy’s camp and took back what he stole from me. He’s under my feet.

I tell you I’ve gotten quite moved by that song a few times as I put the devil under my feet with excited jumping and stomping. If you watch this video, you’ll see quite a few people very excited to put the enemy under their feet. You’d think with all of this, the devil would never show up again.

Or how about this one if you are a little bit older:

Victory is mine, victory is mine, victory today is mine. I told Satan to get thee behind. Victory today is mine.

It seems Satan likes that King James English too and the use of the word thee.

If you are singing along with me, some of you are no doubt shouting by now. We could have a Holy Ghost breakdown if we tried. A few strong exhortations with some hallelujahs would have our faith exploding. We’d be ready to whip that sly ol’ fox’s butt. If only it were that easy.

Several years ago, I was a camp counselor. Of course, they told me that there was some unwritten rule that you had to be under the age of 30, preferable under the age of 25 to be a camp counselor. However, one of my daughters begged me. The old mother  went to camp, slept on a cot, took showers in cold water in the centralize bathroom outside our cabin, dealt with little prima donnas who would have preferred a cool college age counselor, and almost got saved all over again. After all everyone gets saved during church camp. Every day in chapel we’d sing another catchy song about the devil and spiritual warfare.

I don’t think the song ever caught on like the sly ol’ fox one or stomping the devil under our feet. So you probably don’t know it nor has any one put it on youtube. That year at camp though, it was our theme song.  With extreme enthusiasm, we asked God to take us to the front lines of the battle – where the Lord is marching on.

God answered that prayer for me. If you’ve been in the frontline of a spiritual battle you realize this wasn’t exactly what you bargained for…All that stompin and excitement can give way to exhaustion and lack of faith.  After months of frontline detail, I found myself severely battle fatigued.

One day when the spiritual fatigue was particularly bad, I thought about that camp song. I remember clearly that I was engaged in a great spiritual activity, I was changing the sheets on the bed. As I walked around the bed several times, tucking and tugging and straightening, I said out loud with more enthusiasm than I had at camp:

God, you know how I sang that song about going to the frontline. I don’t want to go to the frontline anymore, I take it all back. This was followed by my ranting about how stupid that song was, that they should never have taught me that song and work me up into a spiritual fervor to declare such a thing.

This went on for a while. Then I thought about how driven I am to excel, to be the best. I thought about how people tell you, this is a spiritual test. I always thought I should be in the spiritual AP or honors class.  I was strong, and ready to face all the challenges. After all, I’d been putting that sly ol’ fox in a box since I was about two years old. That day I asked God to put me in the remedial class. I said no more AP or honors classes for me. I just want to pass with the ordinary class--No more of this frontlines business for me!

Okay, so you thought this week we were supposed to talk about victory. Doesn’t this sound a bit like defeat? I should have known I had power because I had sung “We’ve Got the Power” and “Faith is the Victory.” (Thought I’d throw another song or two in there to pump us up a bit so we don’t get too deflated.)

This is about victory. This is about realizing your own limitations and that you can’t fight alone.  I fought on then and I am still fighting on. I didn’t give up, God didn’t answer my prayer and send me to the remedial class. God gave me more strength to fight another day.

Several years later, I saw Lord of the Rings. As I watched Aragorn at the Black Gate, ready to go into battle, my spirit leaped with excitement. This time it was a more realistic excitement than stompin the devil under my feet.  For I now understood what it was like to rise up out of my own weariness, weakness, defeat and fear to fight on another day.

I need to hear this often – maybe you do too.

Sons of Gondor! Of Rohan! My brothers. I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of Men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the Age of Men comes crashing down, but it is not this day! This day we fight!
By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!

Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:13