It’s that time of year again! Spooky season, which means it’s one of my favorite times on my blog. I love looking at old b-horror movies because God uses them to teach me things about life and fear. You see, people give this season too much power than it needs when it comes to Halloween, I like to take that power away and help you learn what scripture says about fear and spiritual warfare. One of my favorite tropes in old horror movies is the moment where our protagonist isn’t sure how they are going to handle this threat. Zombies, vampires, ghouls, goblins, and creatures of the night; the odds can be very stacked against our hero. Sometimes in life we can be in the same spot. Satan keeps attacking, keeps throwing fears your way. “you aren’t good enough.” “You’ll never make it.” “Just give up” You’ll never be remembered.” Real fears that creep in. The truth is, these can really weigh us down, and if we aren’t careful, the bloodsucking fiends will win, but we have a God who gives us a chance; and that chance is all we need.

I recently showed my wife one of my favorite Halloween movies, The Monster Squad. It’s 80’s goodness at its finest, a group of misfit kids who love monster movies find themselves facing real monster threats, and they’re the only ones who can handle it. So, they do what so many great b-movies do, they have a montage. They see the dangers in front of them, and they plan accordingly. Whether it’s the Monster Squad making wooden stakes in shop class, the Frog Brothers from The Lost Boys, gathering silver bullets and garlic, or George Clooney in Dusk Till Dawn, making holy water super soakers; they gear up. We need to make sure in our own lives, we choose to gear up. It’s something that we often forget, we forget to prepare before walking into the storm. I want you to be prepared. I don’t want your story to end with the ghouls getting you, I want you to make it to the morning light. I want you to be spiritually geared up, just like your creator designed you to be.

Pray like you mean it.

Prayer is simply us coming into God’s presence and talking to him. It’s the way any relationship is strengthened, by communicating on a consistent basis. In the good times and bad, we need to be in the presence of our savior, communicating and opening our hearts to him. We can do this half way, we can’t choose to do this every now and then, we are in the midst of a battle. This is not to be taken lightly, Satan is prowling around seeking people to devour, that means you. As a believer, we have the greatest example we have is Jesus. Jesus didn’t take prayer for granted, he knew he was in a battle even as the son of God, and he prayed like he meant it. Just before being crucified, the moment that was prophesied, he knew what he had to do. He prayed against the forces of hell with such power, he was playing for keeps. In Luke chapter 22, he prays that God’s will be done and that his followers not fall into temptation, and he prayed hard. Verse 43-44 says, “An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” This was a moment where he knew the biggest moment in his life was about to happen, and he was spiritually geared up for the moment. We need to pray like we mean it. This is the real deal, there is no re-do.

Stand up for the people around you.

When we enter a relationship with Christ, it’s not just about us. Let me say that again, it’s not about you. While that may be hard to swallow, it’s the truth. Again, we are to run after and walk in the ways of Jesus, and this he gave the example of this. At the moment where he could have been focused on himself, he chooses to pray for others. Luke 23:34 says, “Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” We need to be spiritually geared up ourselves, but we can’t just be looking out for ourselves. As Satan is prowling around for you, he is prowling around for others too. If you could help someone in the midst of darkness, why would you choose not to? Some of us would say, “Of course I would!” Yet each day we walk past people who are battling fear and losing, don’t let the people around you fall. Shift your focus to helping others and making sure they are spiritually geared up. Be like the Monster Squad, use your tools to help others. We are called to seek and save to lost, just like Jesus calls each of us to do. It’s time to die to yourself and be spiritually geared up for yourself and to reach out to others.

 

As the month of October is filled with scary movies, pumpkins and hoodies; make sure that you are preparing your mind each day to face the spiritual battle ahead of you. Each day we face an enemy that will do anything to make you fall, and we need to be ready. You don’t need silver bullets, garlic, or holy water (though that will help you against creepy monsters); you need to arm yourself by staying connected to Christ. Don’t go out there alone and without armor, be spiritually geared up. Pray like you mean it and stand up for the people around you.

It’s time to fight fear.

-Joshua Thomas