As I walked outside today to check the mail (we are still waiting on Jacob's passport (Mine arrived way early on Sat!) I hear popping and cracking from every direction. It would have been alarming if I didn't also see the icicles and chunks falling from trees. See, this week, for those that don't know, the Midsouth among other areas, was hit with an ice storm. Thankfully, it was nothing like the ice storm of 1994, which anyone who lived here then can remember losing power for days or weeks for some. But I know for my family, this time, we specifically prayed it would not be as bad as forecast. It was icy, and in some parts so many trees were down that you couldn't leave your home. Some lost power for a few days, but for the most part, it seemed like we were able to survive largely unharmed. Praise the Lord. But the crackling and popping of the thawing ice reminded me of yet another lesson from Narnia.
If you have read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (or seen the movie) you have a picture in your mind of the damage Jadis, the White Witch did. She turned what was once a perfect paradise where peace and harmony was intended, to a frozen tundra as a result of people giving themselves over to their selfish desires. While it doesn't necessarily explain HOW Jadis came to power, we know how deceitful the enemy is. Also we know how she played on Edmund's selfish human desires to appear to be able to offer him what he desired. However, we also know, (from the first book) that Jadis paid dearly because Aslan said she would. He knew from the beginning that things would play out the way they did. See, although I haven't read the last C.S. Lewis book, but I have read God's word and guess what? I know what happens in the end! God wins!
See just like the damage done by the notorious white witch, the enemy is a defeated foe. Praise God that we have that assurance. Unfortunately, in both cases, even though they both KNOW they are defeated, they still lust to take as many of us down with them as possible. They are still going to do everything in their (relatively speaking) extremely limited power to destroy what God has created and ordained and sustained. Ultimately the enemy does not succeed, but until then, he vows to take everyone with him that he can. You can look at this in whatever way it helps you to understand. Jadis had covered all of Narnia not only with a thick *beautiful* layer of snow, but also a destructive layer of ice. She forced those who once loved to frollick and dance in lush green grass to hide out in mole holes and undergrown caves for fear of being frozen solid themselves. Snow may be beautiful, but ice, destroys nature; bending and snapping trees all around, drooping destroying powerlines, forcing animals and people to retreat to warmer places.
See, the enemy is like that too. When we let him have a foothold in our lives, he completely takes over. Destroying marriages and families, abusing children, taking lives by drugs, alcohol, and suicide, child trafficking, sexual immorality, all sin really. Everywhere around us the effects of the sin we hold so dear take over our lives and world, snapping down lives like frozen twigs weighed down from an ice storm.
But take hope! Just like the awesome visual C. S. Lewis gives us, God wins in the end. It's up to you, whether you will choose the losing team or the winning team for the battle. In the movie though, you get a great picture much like what I saw and heard this morning. The Lord comes to thaw out that icy wood, so be encouraged. You aren't alone, but instead, the Mighty Warrior fights on your behalf! HE IS victorious and the end is very near, so prepare for battle. Choose your team and fight, because Satan might think he's won the battle he's fighting now, but God will win the war!
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