Visitor

My mother once told me a story about a man who was going to bed and was startled by a noise he heard downstairs. The man lived alone in an old county house, and as he walked down the creaky wooden stairs, he looked into his living room and saw a surprise visitor rocking back and forth slowly in his rocking chair.

It was the devil, and he had come to visit the man.

”Oh, it’s just you.”

The man turned and walked back upstairs and went to bed.

In every culture, there exists some sort of devil figure, regardless of belief. The devil is quite real, and as soon as you realize that, there are a lot of things that suddenly become more black-and-white than they were in the past.

The first thing that ones to mind when most people think of the devil is fear. He loves that, just like the Wizard of Oz loved hiding behind his smoke screens and lighting. However, just as the devil is quite real, there is also something quite real about how you must face him when he comes to you – and I assure you, he will.

A few weeks ago, I had my own encounter with ol Lucifer.

I was going to bed, and as I walked up my stairs, I felt the sensation of ice cold water going from the bottom of my back up the top of my neck. Ice cold, it felt black and evil. I didn’t think much of it as I walked into my bathroom and brushed my teeth, with my lights off as I usually do.

Suddenly, I felt two hands place themselves on my back. They were also ice cold. I looked in the mirror and saw his face, then heard one single word.

“Lucifer.”

He loves making an entrance like this. Most people scream with fear. However, I was raised right and I felt no fear in my heart.

In an instant, I looked into his eyes and felt the Psalms coming out of my heart.

”Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” – Psalm 23

It felt like a waterfall coming out of my chest, full of words and life that created a wall between me and the evil behind me.

”I’ve got the WORD of God in my heart. Is that the best you can do?”

With that, I rinsed my mouth, spat out the water and went to bed.