The Enemy Waits and We Wait (episode 19)

0:00 Do you love a prodigal? Do you feel like you are lost in a scary and endless wilderness? Welcome to the When You Love a Prodigal podcast. I am Judy Douglass and I spent more than 15 years in that wilderness. I believe together we will discover help and hope for your journey. We are continuing with our four sessions on time. Time is such a big deal when you love a prodigal. One of the hardest parts of the wilderness journey with a loved one is the roller coaster, the ups and downs, the unexpected turns, the dashed hope. I know, I lived it.

0:51 As I recounted last week, my loved one was making great progress, better choices, greater stability, hope for a good future. Then hard things happened, pain seared, despair overcame, bad choices ensued, old patterns returned. I felt like we had reverted to 10 years ago. Why was I surprised? We have an enemy and that enemy is after those we love. Peter tells us be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour, someone like your prodigal. And John adds, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. So he's not just trying to distract your left one.

1:56 He's actually coming after them to steal them away, even to kill and destroy them. And our enemy is wily and smart. He studies your prodigal and my prodigal to know the right temptation, the stumbling block most likely to succeed and the best time to attack. Again, why should we be surprised? He did it to Jesus. We read about it in Luke 4. When the enemy followed Jesus into the wilderness, he was intent on destruction, but he was clever. He waited until he thought Jesus would be weak from hunger and thirst. He used the Father's own words quoting scripture repeatedly. He offered Jesus shortcuts, an easier way to get what was already his, to be in power, to have authority, to have immortality. Jesus, of course, was not deceived. He saw through the devil's schemes and he used scripture to rebuke the devil, to resist him, to say, no, not going there. When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left until an opportune time. Satan is such an opportunist. He is ever vigilant to recapture our loved ones, to regain the advantage, to remind them of the pleasures

3:31 of sin, to woo them back into places they have left. He watches for an opportune time. We have some clear instructions from scripture. Submit yourself then to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. We can pray that our prodigals will remember the teaching they have received and resist the devil themselves, but often they will not be in a place in their lives to do that. So we, you and I, must stand in the gap. That means all the time, days, years. I did that especially for three nights after our son received Christ. I spent three nights in a battle, praying all night against what the devil was trying to do in our son's life. And I've been praying ever since. Even today, I would pray, Lord, protect him from the ways that the evil one comes after him. If you love a prodigal, you know you must pray. We must pray on their behalf. We ask God to be their strong fortress, to protect them, to strengthen them, to point them to his way of escape from temptation. We must take the offensive against the evil one according to scriptural patterns. We will talk more

5:07 about that in spiritual warfare in some future episodes. We must personally make sure we are resisting the devil and his temptations directed at us as well. He is persistent. We must walk with Christ in humility, in holiness, and in the power of the Spirit. What we ask God to do on behalf of our prodigals, we must ask him to do for us. Finally, Paul tells us in Ephesians 6, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. The battle makes me weary. I don't like conflict. I'm weary from the pain that surprises the expense, the disappointment, the late night calls, the fear. I'm weary in the waiting. But the devil waits and so must we. Sometimes it is challenging to follow through with this exhortation from Galatians. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Doing good, are we? Surely the loving, the disciplining, the grace-giving, the exhorting, the praying are good. Yet sometimes the good changes,

6:42 the hoped for, prayed for, begged for changes never seem to come. But wait, is there good in the waiting? God seems to say so. Let these many words on waiting sink in. A lot of these are from Psalms. Psalm 38, Lord, I wait for you. You will answer, Lord my God. Paul in Romans says, but if we wait for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Yeah, it's a verse to claim, patiently. Another Psalm 27, wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Love this one in Psalms 5, in the morning, Lord, you hear my voice. In the morning, I lay my requests before you and I wait expectantly. Sometimes as we wait expectantly, we get disappointed, but God is saying, look at who you're asking.

7:52 We can wait expectantly. James tells us, be patient then brothers and sisters until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains, patiently waiting. And another Psalm 40, I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry. Do you believe that? Do you know that that's true? When you cry out, when you ask, when you're waiting, he turns to you. He hears your cry. He's not ignoring you. Since ancient times, no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides the hours who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

8:51 Do you love that? Our God will act on behalf of us as we wait for him to do something wonderful and transforming in the life of our prodigal. Habakkuk tells us, for the revelation awaits an appointed time. It speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it. It will certainly come and will not delay. Remember, we live in this time and God lives in eternity.

9:33 And so we can't really understand, but over and over he's saying to us, wait, be patient. You will see what I will do. Think of those people throughout scripture who waited. Abraham waited for a child. Joseph to get out of prison. Moses for Pharaoh to let his people go. The children of Israel in the desert to reach the promised land. Simeon and Anna the prophetess to see the child, to see Jesus. The disciples for the Holy Spirit to come and fill them.

10:13 Think of those in scripture who waited for rain, for a word from God, and all who were waiting for the Messiah. And God waits too. He has waited through all the prodigalness of his children. He waited for just the right time to send his son in the incarnation and now waits for the right time to send him again. He waits for each of us, as well as each of our loved ones, to surrender, to accept, to return, to trust. So we wait. Isaiah says, yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you. Therefore he will rise up to show you compassion, for the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him.

11:16 A couple of questions. In what ways have you seen the enemy come after your prodigal? What might help you to wait more patiently? God bless you. Thank you for joining me today on the When You Love a Prodigal podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, please subscribe, rate, and review the show on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen. Your review helps the show reach more people with the hope and encouragement of Jesus. Don't forget, take a look at the show notes. And for more helpful information, resources, and books, check out judydouglass.com. That's Douglass with two S's. You can find me on Facebook and on Twitter and Instagram at JudyDouglass417. Until next week.