That familiar weight, bulky mass of responsibility and the scramble for the assets to deal with the crushing weight of reality pressing down upon our shoulders.  The name calling, the wave cresting, the seams burning and the heart frozen solid.  Crying about everything, learning nothing and forgetting completely the discipline of effective listening.  Screaming out in garbled language about misunderstood or loosely comprehended sciences.  Practicing that persona that fools the crowd into believing the ridiculous lie of peace within a raging heart.  Standing still while life races bye or running alongside the train you’ve just missed hoping to catch up.

Do you think that assaults just come as organized attacks during the day, with appointed regiments and marquis of queens-bury rules?  No they sneak in disguised as saints with handfuls of candy, attention and comedic drama, camouflaging the blade beneath the well suited blazer.  Or whilst we dream assaulting our nights, confusing and lengthening our days by constricting our sleep, diet and dashing those moments of well anticipated peace with injections of turmoil and chaos.  Whispering day and night of your shambles of a ministry.  Beckoning this way and that, threatening loss of everything but the air you breathe, but even that is so heavy you cannot seem to get enough into each of your lungs.

This is not a game.  This fight is to the death because it last your life long.  There is no rest but in him and no let up until you find the safety and security in the shadow of Almighty God.  Unless of course you take the field willingly, armored for battle, your mind, heart, feet and arm prepared for ensuing foray.  Going forward is the only way through the maze, through the enemy’s illusory misgivings, past the monsters, and dragons and fiery voids.  Standing still is misery, relentlessly bombarded by darts, arrows, innuendo and demagoguery, ducking, no hiding behind the width and breadth of shield protecting your flank.  When shall we draw the sword of our Father and stride forward screaming, There’s Victory in Jesus, My Saviour.