There are days when there is absolutely no mistaking it: I am under spiritual attack.
Doubts swirling, fears roiling, Satan whispering lies in my ear, I was on my knees last night begging God to protect me, to root me in truth. I felt the battle raging in me, a battle for my soul. I knew that though I have been saved by God's grace, Satan has not yet flown the white flag. He is still fighting to reclaim what was stolen from him, and he has only sharpened his tactics to crueler, craftier barbs.
In the middle of my prayer, though, God spoke something to me. He turned my mind to a scene that has been seared in my memory since second grade—a scene from C.S. Lewis', The Silver Chair, that reflected my turmoil like a mirror.
In the midst of my struggle, I thought of Puddleglum.
Slipping under the sweet spell of an evil enchantress, a witch whose hypnotic magic has almost convinced him that Aslan (the Narnian God-figure) does not exist, Puddleglum fights to the very end to stand firm in what he believes. Even while doubt is stealing into his heart and muddling everything he knows to be true, he holds on—doggedly, fiercely, unyieldingly—and says: "Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things—trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones" (Lewis).
With that single glimpse, that shred of a story I've known and loved so long, God answered my prayer as only He can—by knowing me intimately, and opening my eyes to the truth as He sees it from His perfect vantage point. He showed me the war for my soul as I couldn't see it from where I stood, holding me to the mirror of Narnia and revealing Satan's efforts for all that they are: LIES. Sugared deceptions meant to tear us from truth. But they couldn't take Puddleglum.
And they won't take me.
Today, I'm thanking God for Puddleglum, and marching on with the strength God grants me to face the lies of Satan behind my shield of Faith.
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