Take It Extremely Slow

Ephesians 6:16 “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”

I was driving from our annual campus-wide baptisms and my mind was racing. I couldn't anchor the many comments I heard, the unresolved situation with a dear friend, or the doubts flying overhead. As my mind was racing, my car was racing. I was speeding through the scenic back roads leading toward my home. I didn’t see the baby deer until it was 5 feet in front of my car. I slammed on my brakes to slow down and thankfully I had avoided an accident that would have cost me. Several seconds later, as I continued to speed, a cat threw itself into the street. The cat wasn’t as lucky as the deer. I nicked it and in my rearview mirror, I saw the animal scurry away hurt. This time, I slowed down just in case another animal decided to leap out in front of my car. Good thing I did because just another 30 seconds later, the mama deer popped its head out and crossed my path. However, I was going slow enough to avoid any accidents or near misses. 

I tend to jump full speed, no matter what. I rush and impatience follows. I have learned that rushing will not get me there any faster. My mind was racing through all the what-if scenarios, dwelling on the negative outcomes. Just like my car, I had to slow it way down. In that moment, the Holy Spirit revealed to me that each of those animals represented an attack or flaming arrow of the enemy. Our spiritual enemy is constantly throwing traps, obstacles, or bullets on our path to trip us up. He wants to cause us to stumble, keeping us from walking our path successfully. 

Ephesians 6:16 “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Here’s the thing, we cannot see flaming arrows if we are moving too fast. But if we choose to slow down, we can see those traps before they ever make it to us. I was able to avoid that deer because I was driving slower. The same can be true for our spiritual walk, we can avoid many traps of the enemy if we choose to slow down. 

My friends, we don’t have to allow anything to hinder us today. We can make a choice to walk right over those comments we heard today, the negative thoughts racing through our minds, or the overwhelming circumstances we are facing. Jesus has given us a Helper, the Holy Spirit, to discern spiritual attacks and how to overcome every single one of them. Let’s take time today to slow down and dwell in the Presence of God.