I apologize for the late post today. Something happened to me last night that sparked me to push this week’s post for next week because I felt the need to write about this occurrence. I apologize for it being a novel, but this was the most powerful spiritual attack I have ever experienced.
Last night, I found myself incredibly bored and upset that the gym was closed. I had to do something, I thought, but I just didn’t know what.
Then it hit me… Summit Mount Baldy.
Now, fast forward to the parking lot.
Everything is ready to go for the journey. Pack fully loaded. Properly clothed for ascending an Alaskan mountain on a February evening. Sophie, chomping at the bit to get started. Deep breath to get that cold air into the lungs. Pull the slide back on the Glock 29 to chamber a round and off we go.
With my headlamp on and not a single sound other than Sophie sniffing the snow, it seems like the beginning to an eerie horror film. Not for this guy. I am at peace. This is my place. These hikes are where God and I have our moments. Time stops and anything outside my ten-foot bubble doesn’t exist. The higher and deeper I get into the wild, means the closer I am to Him.
A mile into the hike, we hit the pond and three cabins. My mind starts to become distracted. I have no clue why.
Then a warm and very fowl wind blows right in my face. Sophie stops and lowers herself immediately to the ground. Her fur stands straight up on end. She snarls and is foaming at the mouth. This is not like her in any situation. I look up to the cabin about 25 feet away. I find nothing. I grab her collar, draw my Glock and look up again.
There it stands. A lone wolf, white as snow, with possessed, blood-red eyes. Those eyes will haunt me. It stands there, just growling. Fighting to hold on to Sophie I yell, “GO AWAY!”
It begins to walk towards me. I hear it say in a low voice through its growling, “My work is here. This is my place. You cannot have this place.”
“STOP!” I yell. It stops and stands there with the same ferocity.
Sophie is now done at this point and just wants to go home. I look down briefly to put her leash on, then back up. No wolf. Not even a paw print in the snow where it stood (I would later recall this before trying to fall asleep).
We back off slowly. Sophie is tugging on her leash to head back to the car. We retreat back to the car taking twice as long now, because I am back-stepping the whole way to ensure an accurate shot can be made if the wolf decides to show up again.
Finally, what feels like an entire day, takes thirty minutes and we arrived at the car. I throw Sophie in along with my bag and myself. Look up, look down at the ignition to insert the keys and start the car. Saying a quick prayer of thanksgiving for safety, I flip the lights on and look up. There it is. Sitting in the snow at the trailhead. White fur and those blood-red eyes.
“Never come here with Him again,” I felt it say.
I blink. It’s gone.
Dumbfounded and scared, I sit there in total awe. I look at Sophie and she looks at me. We are both thinking the same. What the hell just happened?
Then it hit me… Maybe hell just happened?
After some deep breaths and solitary praying, I realized that I was under a heavy spiritual attack. The worst one I have ever experienced. But why me?
The enemy enjoys denying our connection to the Father. The enemy denied me from enjoying what I do to connect with Him. A battleground has just been made out of where I connect to God the most.
I have been doing a lot of hikes lately. My wife can attest to that. Maybe, just maybe, this is a plan for things to come. Am I doing so well on the straight and narrow path that the enemy wants to push me off this balance beam? Is the enemy trying to deny my time with God and connection with Him in the future? Or maybe I was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time, in a dark place of the world and I crossed paths with a demon at work. I can not tell you at this moment, but I will say I did not just randomly cross a lone albino wolf that is so lightweight that it does not make prints in the snow.
Remember this, there is a spiritual war happening all the time, both around and within us. It gets harder and more noticeable when big things are coming in His name. The enemy tries to smother us and derail us. Pray and remember, He is with you always. Even when things get tough.
The scripture for this week will be Psalm 23:4.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Remember that God is always with you. Be wary of attacks from the enemy. They know how to get to you, but He will protect you if you allow Him. Find comfort in Him because He is the way to salvation. Be about His work.
It is a humbling experience to see first hand that God and the enemy are fighting over you. Help Him by continuing to pursue Him. I pray that you upset the enemy every day, but that you never experience what I did last night.
A smile comes across my face when I find I am angering the enemy to the point of having to attack me like this. I can’t wait to go on another hike or two next weekend.