Spiritual Warfare

Mama Said

/ Elizabeth Trotter / Leave a comment

My mom was an Army wife. She told me that things always go wrong when a dad is out of town — whether deployed or out for field exercises or summer training. All the Army wives knew it was true. 

A kid would get seriously sick, or the car would break down, or something would go wrong with the house when a dad was gone. It was a fact of life they had no choice but to accept. One time a toddler ended up in the hospital while my dad was gone. Another time Mom had a baby. (Thank God for supportive church people, right?!)

But this truism ended up applying to more than military life. Ministry life felt much the same.

I remember being six months pregnant with my fourth child when Kansas City received torrential downpours. Jonathan was at Bible camp with the youth group, and the parsonage basement flooded over fifteen inches. It short-circuited both the air conditioning system and the (newly replaced) hot water heater, which now both needed replacing, and ruined most of what we’d stored down there — books and family photo albums in cardboard boxes which we had carefully placed on top of stone blocks. 

But the water level rose above those stones, and capillary action on the cardboard ensured total damage. I needed an entire team of people to help empty the basement of its boxes and furniture, now ruined, try to salvage anything we could, and toss the rest. Later that week a nearby water main broke, and we didn’t have water at all for a while, which was even worse than trying to shower in cold water a few days before. 

After that, we stored our belongings in plastic boxes on even higher blocks.

I remember another time when we lived in Cambodia and Jonathan was on an international trip and I got sick. He wasn’t planning to come straight home though. He was going to meet me and the kids in Thailand, where we were scheduled to be the keynote speakers at a home education conference.

I had to figure out how to get better and still make it to the conference with four kids in tow. Asian airlines and airports have been checking for fevers long before COVID-19 hit the world, so I didn’t actually know if I would make it to the conference. That week involved a lot of praying, phone calling, and Tylenol swallowing.

Something similar happened again recently. Jonathan was just about to leave for an international ministry trip when I became seriously ill. I couldn’t concentrate, I was in constant pain, and I could barely get out of bed, but I somehow dragged myself to the doctor for testing. What I was diagnosed with (thyroiditis) was going to require a long recovery, but there were some medications that could help manage symptoms in the meantime. 

Then it was time to decide whether he should leave on the ministry trip or not. I was in bad shape, and he offered to stay home and care for me. But I really felt he still needed to go. People were depending on him — some people were attending the event specifically to meet with him. Plus, I had all these older teen and adult children who could help, in addition to an amazing local church family. One thing I know for sure: the prayers of the saints have held me these past couple weeks.

This illness isn’t fun. I actually got worse for a little while after he left. But the experience reminded me of my mama’s wisdom. Things always seem to go wrong just when the person who is supposed to help you navigate the trials of life is also gone. Is it chance, happenstance, spiritual warfare? I don’t know. I do know that my husband and I have often fought just before a big ministry event — so much so that he began to expect it. 

This time around we didn’t fight. I got sick instead. 

I’ve never been one to accuse the devil of much. I’ve seen the practice misused. But sometimes it’s hard not to draw spiritual conclusions. This illness was so unexpected. I’ve never had thyroid problems, and they don’t run in my family. I’m generally healthy. Yet right before Jonathan was supposed to leave for an eleven-day trip to do some really important ministry, I was diagnosed with a temporarily debilitating illness.

The truth is, maybe we’ll never know the reasons these things happen. But as every military, ministry, and missionary wife knows, they do tend to happen. The question then becomes: What are we going to do when they happen?

Spiritual Warfare Lullaby (Greater is He)

/ trotters41 / Leave a comment

I’m so excited to share this song with you all!

This Spiritual Warfare Lullaby was written here in Phnom Penh, after talking with some friends who were experiencing some intense and scary nights. Many thanks to Nashville musician, Hetty, for her voice and guitar talents!

My hope is that these lyrics, excerpted from Psalm 23, Psalm 91, 1 John 4, and Romans 8, would bring deep peace and rest to the people of God, scattered around the world.

You can download a free MP3 through this link.

— Jonathan T.

All the hosts of heaven are shouting
At the victory he’s won.
All of hell continues to tremble
At the love of God above.

 

A Spiritual Warfare Lullaby

/ trotters41 / 1 Comment

Greater is He
Greater is he who is in me,
Than the one who’s in the world

There is no power in Heav’n or hell or earth
That can ever separate me
From the love of God our Father
From the love of God above

Like a Good Shepherd he leads me
Besides waters still and calm
In the presence of all of my enemies
Still the presence of God above

I will not fear the terror
Of the day or the night
For I know my Father is with me
In the dark he is my Light.

All the hosts of Heaven are shouting
At the victory he’s won
All of Hell continues to tremble
At the love of God above

Before You Cry “Demon!” {A Life Overseas}

/ trotters41 / Leave a comment

Jonathan is over at A Life Overseas today, taking on the tricky topic of spiritual warfare. 

dem

I believe the enemy is real. I believe he still seeks to kill and destroy. He still deceives. He still lies. He still wars against the King.

I also believe we blame him for way too much.

We talk about how we’re “under attack” or how our ministry team is receiving a whole lot of “opposition.” And sometimes, we really believe there’s spiritual warfare going on, but often those words and phrases are simply code for “my life’s falling apart right now and I need help” or “our team members are all really angry with each other.” It’s easier to say “we’re under attack” than it is to say “we’re really drowning.”

A conversation on Facebook illustrates the problem. After a missionary described a bunch of really hard stuff that was happening in their life and ministry, a friend left the following comment: “That kind of opposition makes me think that you’re doing something powerful.”

Do we really believe that? Play that logic out a bit: “Oh, bad things are happening to you, you must be doing something right.” Or reverse it, “Oh, things are going well for you, you must be doing something wrong.” That’s crazy talk, really, but we do it all the time.

Do we really believe that the only reason difficult stuff happens to Christians is because we’re doing something right and the hounds of hell are now opposing us? It’s possible, of course, but we make the assumption automatically and apply it liberally. Is it possible that Satan and his demons are wreaking havoc on a specific missionary or ministry? Absolutely. But just because it’s a possibility doesn’t mean it’s the only possibility.

Continue reading the article here.

Prayer Requests on Repeat

/ trotters41 / 7 Comments

I’m asking for prayers for the Trotter family once again. It has been a difficult month. After Jonathan recovered from meningitis, we gradually eased back into our normal work and study schedules. Then we (excitedly!) welcomed my parents for a visit to Cambodia (and thoroughly enjoyed them).

But as strange as this may sound, Jonathan is fighting a massive ear infection. What started in the outer ear has progressed to something else. He’s got unrelenting ear pain and pressure, plus a fever, aches and chills, and occasionally that pain-induced nausea that he’s all-too-familiar with by now. He’s not sleeping much because of the pain. He’s on oral antibiotics, antibiotic ear drops, and over-the-counter and Rx pain meds, but he’s still not getting better. Is it good news that he’s not worsening?? (Oh, and our doctor friends tell us he will need to go to a clinic tomorrow if he hasn’t improved.)

This is discouraging for him, as he wants to work but is stuck in bed with intense pain. Much of the time I find him covering his ear with his hand. It is discouraging for me, as I watch my husband battle the most debilitating pain he’s ever experienced twice in the same month. When I signed up for this missionary gig, I always assumed that if anyone would get sick, it would be me. After all, I’m the one prone to migraine headaches and intermittent stomach pain, plus I’d heard so many stories of missionary wives having chronic illness/fatigue. I did not expect him to get sick.

Both our girls have fevers now and have not slept much the past 2 nights (which means that mommy hasn’t been sleeping much either). The kids are all complaining of ear pain to a certain degree, and everyone is sad that we had to say goodbye to the grandparents last night. This morning I told Jonathan that I never want to swim in the ocean again! (He would tell you it was the best break he’d had in a LONG time, though.)

We have been repeatedly told by long-term missionaries that we are in the middle of the hardest time of year, starting in October with Pchum Ben (Hungry Ghost Festival) and continuing all the way through the end of November with the Water Festival. These are big pagan celebrations, and as much as I prefer not to focus on this reality, dark spiritual forces do exist in this world.

We were told that there is more illness and more discouragement during these months. I have been vigilant in guarding my mind and warring for a good attitude since learning about this difficult season. (It’s a bummer that it corresponds to my favorite season in the U.S.) I have the hope that this difficult season will end this year, as it does every year.  I struggle against the sins that are crouching at my door; however, I have very little control over physical sickness, despite our best attempts at frequent hand sanitizing (ahem, ER nurse and germophobe wife). So please pray for us, both for our family’s health and for our spirits.

We are generally happy and healthy people, and I feel very needy to be requesting your prayers so soon after our last crisis. Yet we know we need them. I am confident in the prayers of the believers. On the last night of Pchum Ben, Hannah woke up 3 times, crying over her bad dreams. By the 3rd time, I finally got the hint, and prayed with her that her bad dreams would go away. After that she slept soundly till morning.

So here we are, once again, being quite honest with you, our friends and our family, about our need for prayer. We trust that you will answer our requests for prayer. But more importantly, we trust that God will answer the prayers themselves.