Last weekend, I had the privilege of serving at Halton’s camp. Before I get into it, let me just say that I went into this camp without expectations. It surprised me nonetheless, to discover that 80% of the service team were first timers. It was every facilitator’s second time at a camp; the last time they were participants.
Where do I even begin?
The camp itself was amazing. The Lord continued to remind us to trust Him, despite all of the time constraints we began to feel. But this camp, from all the camps I’ve been to, was a little different. Okay, it was very different.
Despite the few bumps we encountered at the beginning, everything was going relatively smooth. A few very subtle glimpses of spiritual warfare, but nothing different from what would be experienced at most camps. It wasn’t until after Tongues Workshop where we started seeing not only red flags, but flashing lights. Three out of the four sister facilitators exited the cabin after the Tongues Workshop and to say they were distraught would be an understatement. They sat there huddled in a small circle on the grass crying, and one by one, myself and two of the other leaders took them aside. The sister I spoke to shared with me what she experienced and how it simultaneously terrified her and made her doubt herself. I cried with her as I held her, and then I began to smile as I told her that this means she’s doing something right. “It means that there is greatness inside of you, and he (the devil) is trying to keep it hidden.”
Directly after, we were called back into the lodge for an emergency service team meeting. We sang Fearless, but something different happened. Afterwards, in the silence, a voice came booming. Filling the room. It was one of the sisters, but as she spoke, I knew it was no longer her.
“I will never, ever, let anything touch you.”
Me typing that here did it no justice. How it sounded was like this: I WILL NEVER. EVER. LET ANYTHING. TOUCH YOU.
I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but you know Aslan (the lion)? Well for the past several months, God had embraced me, cried with me, held me, kissed my forehead, and danced with me. But at that moment, God… oh man… He was…God. GOD. It was as though we were getting attacked, and this monolithic lion jumped out in front of us and let out this massive, earth-quaking roar. A lion is still a lion. As I had gotten closer to God, and much as the children of the movie grew close to Aslan, they became comfortable (rightfully so), curling up next to the lion as they slept, embracing the lion, laughing with him, etc. But, when it was time for battle… the lion was still a lion.
Oh, how He protects us.
Stay close to Him and fear not.
