Unseen…

Unseen…7-29-25

If you look very carefully in this photo, something is hidden. It blends in nicely with the soil around. Quiet, still, and present. This one rode 12 hours in a vehicle with laughter, movement, stopping and starting, all the while carefully concealed waiting to reveal itself at the right time.

As I watched the news last night, something I find I’m doing less frequently, I watched in sadness as a building in NYC was being carefully checked, wounded taken out on stretchers, ambulances waiting to rush them to a nearby hospital, and police helicopters circling above. I saw images replayed of the gunman walking calmly, purposefully towards his mission. I saw people fleeing as the scene unfolded.

In between these images, I saw a replay of an attack in Michigan just hours before. This in a well-known superstore where many people were shopping. A man enters, begins stabbing, and 11 people were attacked. Some are seriously wounded, some critical, and others traumatized as they watched the scene unfold. Their minds replaying the screams as the man entered the bustling atmosphere of once laughter and conversation to bring destruction.

I am reminded of a scripture that my pastor quoted to me just one day prior before Sunday School. Then, this verse came up in Sunday School, and was mentioned again that night in intercessory prayer. 1 Peter 4:12, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”. Although these attacks were not directed on me or those I know, they should have come as no surprise. Yet, for me, they still do.

You see, the devil will conceal itself within our society, infiltrate our homes, destroy our churches, and steal our peace, if he can. There are those who walk among us that are hidden, waiting to make themselves known. They are waiting to move quietly into the light from the darkness and destroy our belief that God is good. His mercy endures. We can have joy in trials.

1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.". I understand that we will be tempted. Jesus was. Are we more than He that the devil would leave us alone, but tempt our Lord and Savior? I am saddened at the loss of so many to the devil’s minions. I pray for the families of those impacted by all of these events. But, I know this isn’t the end.

There is already a call for gun laws, but the second incident I mentioned was a knife. Are we going to take away knives? I do believe, as my pastor said on Sunday, we need to arm ourselves with the whole armour of God. The devil will not stop until he is banished. But, I am safe in the knowledge that we will have trials. We will experience struggles, but God will continue to be my shield.

Luke 8:17: "For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known and brought out into the open".