Poking the Dragon

I’ve shared with many of you the wild experiences Tony and I had in the months before our son, Trevor got sick and died.

Looking back, I’m convinced that it was a time of preparation, while God systematically removed any traces of doubt we may have had about His existence and His love for us. We would be needing all the faith and hope we could muster, and God was there to give it. 

In particular were those 'interesting' experiences with both the Holy Spirit and with demons during those years we were living in Sendai, Japan.

I remember one precious Japanese family.  He was a soldier, on assignment to a little town north of us, close to where we had a church.  Mrs and I became good friends. She came to church asking about salvation, and within a few weeks she prayed to receive Christ.

Then the 'fun' began.  She had a good, loving relationship with her husband, which was sometimes rare in a country like Japan, where in the previous generation, around 90% of all marriages were “arranged”.  Also in keeping with tradition, they had the requisite little boy first and then the little girl.

One night her husband accompanied her to a Bible study at our house.  He told us when he walked in that he had watched the movie, "Ben Hur" when he was 15 and that night was held in his bed by some kind of demonic force, terrified and unable to sleep.  Then and there, he told us, he decided to never think of Christ again.  

 We were shocked, but soon learned that his experience is common in Japan. They even have a name for it: “Kanashibari”, which translates as “bound by fear”. As we researched the phenomena, we learned that every Japanese in Japan knows about it, and more than half have experienced it, usually after some spiritual encounter (like thinking about becoming a Christian). Over the years, by the way, whenever people would come to us asking for help, we would pray for them, and in 100% of the incidents, the experience stopped.  

Anyway, the husband settled in and we had our Bible study.  When we were done, Tony asked if anyone wanted to accept Christ or have prayer for sickness and healing.  Mrs punched Mr and he shook his head a vehement 'no'. 

They went home.  The next morning, she called me and explained that he had an invalid mother, who, while bedridden for many years, was relatively healthy.  At exactly the moment he told his wife 'no' 1000 miles away, she suddenly died.

We did not see him again.  Later it came to light that he was an identical twin and therefore 'given' to the Shinto gods when he was just a baby.  And here we are as Christians often forgetting that there are real 'powers and principalities' out there that we're dealing with (Ephesians 6:12). 

Finally, we began to feel that the Mrs wanted to be baptised.  She talked to her husband about it and he replied that he would feel  "sabishii" (lonely), indicating that he feared being left out if this religion thing went too far.  We cautioned her to wait, pray for God's leading and obey her husband, at least for the time being.

And then there was Ami, their three-yr old daughter.  The children came to church with mom every Sunday, and they were adorable until Tony would stand up to preach.

Then Ami would always start screaming.  It was weird.

One morning on the way to church, Tony said to me, “Can you try to keep Ami out of church this morning, because I want to preach about Baptism, and I want the Mrs to be able to concentrate.”

No problem, I usually had the kids in the back of the building anyway. No problem.

 But when we could hear the service moving toward the sermon, I glanced over to Ami, and sure enough, she started making her move for mama.  I grabbed her up, swung her around and tickled her.  She started to scream.

"Ok miss," I thought, “two can play this game.”  And still under my breath and definitely unsure of myself, I said, "In the name of Jesus, come out of her!”

Now I'm not making this stuff up.  She PEED all over me in a split second.  I was drenched all down her and my front.  Now I've had three kids and they've certainly peed, but not like this!!  No liquid can escape that fast, it was like a fire hydrant. I ran, holding her at arms’ length to the old Japanese toilet.

It was a hole in the ground, about 10 inches across, nothing else.  I set her down and stripped off her dress since she was soaked.  I had to be careful that she didn't fall into the hole, because of course she was really slippery now that she was naked. But instead of falling into the hole, she twisted and slipped out of my grip and off she went, bolting into the service.  

And that was that.  She pretty much ended the service that day.  Of course, my friend had to leave, partly because of embarrassment, and partly because the rest of the congregation needed to process what had just happened. 

They came back to church the next week, and the little darling continued to scream if she saw a Bible or heard Tony start to teach or preach. It was becoming a Force that we needed to deal with but weren't sure how, except to keep praying.

Then one Sunday morning as we ate breakfast, the phone rang.  It was the Mrs.

"I'm being baptised today!" She sang into the phone.  Yes, there was going to be a baptism, including my son Nathan, but we had thought clearly that she was forbidden.

"What happened?" I asked.

"We'll, we sat down for breakfast and my husband said, "So you're being baptised today?" And I said "Yep, sure am!"

I looked around for a waterproof dress, trying to imagine what Ami was going to do to me, but the whole family arrived and Ami ran right up to me and lifted her arms.

As I picked her up, she smiled and said, in Japanese, "Auntie, you've always loved me!"  And then she sat on my lap like a little angel all thru the sermon and baptism.

Isn't life interesting working with God?  

I wish I could tell you “the rest of the story” and about her  husband accepting Christ, but they were soon transferred to the northern tip of Japan, out of contact.  We went for our Stateside Assignment and sadly, even after trying and trying, we lost track of them.  I take comfort in the assurance that God has Not. 

“Spiritual warfare” is not something I would ever look for, but that year, with more experiences like Ami, Tony and I both gained a new appreciation for “life in the service”. Again, I don’t think any of us should head out the door, sword in hand searching for the nearest battlefield. Without the Holy Spirit’s leading, you may at best become distracted from the real work God has given you, and in the extreme, you may end up like one of those “seven sons of Sceva.” 

Just know that the Apostle Paul and others remind us that it’s not “flesh and blood” with which we contend, but Powers and Principalities.        (Ephesians 6:12)

Be a soldier, obedient and ready, but waiting for His command.

Marsha

“One day the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” (Acts 19: 15)