Do You Like Scary Movies?

I have never liked scary movies. Ever.

Maybe you are a theatrical thrill seeker and nothing makes you happier than a racing pulse as you watch a movie from your couch.

You can go ahead and invite me over to your house for a movie night, but just know that I will be in the kitchen raiding your fridge and eating all the popcorn reading a book.

I guess I just don’t understand the excitement of scary movies. Because their level of realism is about zero. “Oh hey, let me walk into this dark house by myself. Pay no attention to the crescendo of intense music in the background. And is that a trail of blood on the ground? I think I will follow it. Only good things can come from this, right?”

Honestly, I just don’t get it. Never in my life have I answered the phone to a heavy breathing voice on the other end of the line saying, “Do you like scary movies?” Unless you count the prank calls in high school.

As Christians, we face a different type of scary movie. We live in it. Daily. And in our “movie,” our enemy is much less cheesy and predictable.

Satan very rarely gives himself away so easily as the villains in the creepy movies. Oftentimes, his tactics are much more subtle. Instead of leading us down a dark and sinister path in the middle of nowhere, he will try to judo chop us at the knees in broad daylight.

Sometimes even among our fellow Christian believers.

A few weeks ago, our group of PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) sisters were gathered for our weekly time of worship and study here at Fort Lewis. At the beginning of each get-together, we spend some quiet time just praying as we CRAVE in His presence. Then we worship. And often we listen to a short devotional, teaching or testimony.

This particular week had me excited. We had scheduled our wise and enlightening sister Sammie to share a bit about the Hebrew history, focusing on Psalm 63:7…

Because you are my helper,
I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.

I knew it was going to be good. Sammie had gone all out, providing a visual as well as a special worship song just for the occasion. I settled into the pew, ready to listen and learn.

Our worship leader moved into place. Sammie walked up to the stage. Right before the first strum of the guitar, one of our Chaplains made his way hurriedly to the front.

“Ladies, as calmly as possible, please exit the sanctuary immediately.”

I furrowed my brow. Lord, what is going on? Is this a drill? We had a gas leak a few weeks ago that resulted in a similar request, but this feels different…

Although I didn’t know the detailed reason for our exit, I did know immediately who was behind it: Satan.

We had gotten too close to completely unraveling his scheme. The last months of hard laboring to rebuild our organization and restore its health had seriously threatened his evil plot to keep us bound and in the dark.

So, in typical Satan fashion, he pulled out all the stops.

He instilled fear in our hearts by dumping us into the parking lot. Canceling our worship. Stirring up our hearts, try to bring anxiety to the surface as we waited for our little ones to be evacuated.

After about 45 minutes of standing in the parking lot and being asked to move farther and farther away from the building, the “incident” was resolved.

A distressed soldier had shown up at the chapel looking for help. When he had to wait on the chaplain, he barricaded himself in a room, making threats.

Satan used the broken, hurting heart of another to disrupt the day of about 100 women.

But guess what? Unlike most “scary movies,” the Good Guy always wins in OUR story.

The distressed soldier remained unharmed. Although a bit shaken, all of our sisters and babies were OK.

And the following week? Yep, you got it. We pressed forward with the exact same worship set, an identical plan to reclaim what the enemy had tried to steal from us.

It was rich. Sweet. Encouraging.

Most of all– it was victorious.

Remember, dear readers… When the enemy is threatened, he will do everything in his power to creep us out. To distract. Intimidate. Scare. Shake.

But really, if we stay rooted in our Victorious One, his attacks have as much weight as the cheesy, heavy breathing voice in the phone saying, “Do you like scary movies?”

Why, yes– yes I do, you big dumb jerkface. I have Jesus on my side. Bring it on. Bring. It. On.

No Fear In Love,