The War is Won But the Battle Rages On

Although I have complete assurance that God is going to accomplish this work of translating the Bible and that nothing can stand against Him, it doesn’t stop the enemy from fighting us. Even though our enemy knows that he is defeated he is determined to take as many of us down with him as he can and prevent us from reaching people with the gospel.

Never has this been more real to me than with this first translation workshop. Starting the week before the workshop began, events escalating causing us to wonder what was going on. From personal financial difficulties to serious illnesses to major issues at the office the problems have not stopped. Issues continue to arise each week and sometimes I wonder if we will make it through the third week. The participants are also affected and sometimes have to miss sessions to attend funerals or take care of personal matters.

This battle was vividly demonstrated one morning when we were distracted from the lesson by a group of people attempting to cast a demon out of somebody next door. Over the screams of that person the participants tried to focus on how to translate Biblical key terms. We did take a moment to stop and pray for those people as well. But it was a very real reminder to me that Satan is doing everything he can to hinder us.

And I must admit that his strategy is effective. If he can wear us down with issues at home and frustration with things not working very well at the office, we lose our effectiveness quickly and are tempted to give up. If one of the key leaders of this workshop can't focus because of problems he has to deal with back at the office and because his child is sick, the work suffers. If participants miss too many sessions, they are not able to translate well. Little by little we are worn down, distracted and discouraged.

Thankfully, God does not leave us in this place but He brings people to join with us in one of the best ways possible, praying. Christians in all different parts of the world are praying and God is working. He is giving us the strength to go on when we have none and He holds everything together when we're sure it will fall apart and collapse completely. God answers prayer in so many ways and it demonstrates what the body of Christ can do when we come together, united by the power of Christ.