new eyes, two

After reflecting on the goings-on of the week with the other youth staff, it became fairly obvious that some of the campers were definitely against the Gospel and in fact hindering the preaching of it. Two in particular stand out. One would constantly yell during prayers, keep the campers up at night, fight counselors, and laugh at hideous ideas like killing himself. He was sent home in the middle of the week for telling a camper from our church that he was going to go to Hell. The other camper (female) was non-verbal, yet violent. With eyes closed by a scowling face, she constantly disturbed the other girls in her cabin. One night, this supposedly non-verbal girl, sat up in her bed for hours screaming her own name and grumbling. A gripping video about the power and might of God and of his blessings to us was blocked when the girl stood in front of the projector. She walked back and forth in front of it, blocking the screen and detracting from the video. This is not normal behavior for an autistic child.

At the time, I just thought it was the Autism coming out in a big group setting. Yet – when the pieces from the week were put together, she was not an average Autistic camper. Could it be that our eyes are so shut to the idea of demonic possessions that we don’t even see it when it rears it’s ugly head right in front of us? Is it possible that here in America we don’t see as many demons as in say Africa or Asia because our eyes have been so shut by the devil’s schemes? Tanya – mentioned earlier – was terrified of the possibly possessed girl. Could it be that she, in absolute innocence was able to see evil plainly due to her pure heart?

Can America easily pass over the devil’s plans to use overt demonic possession to thwart the Gospel because we’ve fallen for his easier “little evils” like materialism, sex, power, corruption, lies? We can not see our own battle here in the states because we’ve lost a militant mindset (Ephesians 6). We’ve forgotten that we’re in a battle for souls daily and that we need to be aware that Satan wants us to fail. Only when we look to God to equip us with his full armor can we fight and win.

Still I’m left with questions: Can the devil take over a person so fully with disease that there’s no fighting against it? Are there demons that we can not cast out of people – one’s that have such a stronghold on the person that they’re identity is demonic? How do we differentiate between disease and demon? Does purity of heart allow us to see God as well as allow us to see the devil at work?

In the end I throw up my hands and ask God for more faith.

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