All week long in Haiti, I listened to stories of the history of voodoo in the country. I heard from a former witch doctor who shared stories of curses, death, alcohol, thievery, poisoning people, grave robbing, and enslaving people. I heard him speak of waving flags over his house that signified to others the dark spirits he served. I heard him speak of a religion of fear.
On Friday, our group watched a baptism where we witnessed a power encounter between Light and Dark. The young woman being baptized was immersed and on coming up from the water, she immediately began to thrash about, screaming something in Creole. The elders prayed over her and held her. She continued to thrash, then pause, then thrash and splash about, then shout. The pastors continued to pray. Finally, after about 5 minutes, JeanJean re-baptized her, and she calmly walked from the river to the shore.
Later, JeanJean explained the words she had been shouting. "I told you not to get baptized!" "How could you do this to me?!" A spirit manifested that was opposing her baptism into Christ. JeanJean told us that her history had been deep in voodoo, and when Christians encounter these manifestations, they pray, and pray, and pray some more.
During our small group time, our team processed these experiences and spoke about our thoughts, our questions, our emotions, our culture, our upbringing. Though these experiences in Haiti seemed so different, so "out there", we could not deny that the Bible speaks frequently about the "thief who comes to steal and destroy" and the enemy who "prowls around like a lion seeking someone to devour." We had just never seen the spiritual realm through quite such unfiltered lenses.
I asked the group, "What is the voodoo of our culture?" What is our religion of fear? What flags wave above our homes describing the spirits we serve? Satan isn't just at work to master the people of Haiti and keep the Haitian people's focus off of God. He's plenty busy in our own backyard deceiving and masquerading as an angel of light. In fact, with the numbers of people packing the churches in the small community of Bohoc, Haiti, over the past 8 years, compared to the number of people leaving our churches in our own community, I'd say that Satan has some powerfully subtle and effective tactics to wreak confusion and havoc in our own cities. Flags wave above our homes as we serve spirits of materialism, busyness, division, hate, racism, competition, greed, lust, alcohol and drugs, addictions to money, tv, food, sex, sports, gambling, spirits of pride and selfish ambition, spirits of lukewarm faith and double-mindedness, spirits of pleasure and self-protection with attempts to insulate from pain or want of anything. Voodoo is a religion of fear. Perhaps we as a society serve the same religion of fear...though ours is often perhaps a fear of the loss of self-determination.
In Haiti, I observed the active and busy nature of Satan in a new way. It caused me to increase my awareness and reflect about what strategies He uses in my own life to place a wedge between my relationship with Christ and to keep me from full devotion. Through the week, I began to pray more specifically and remembered these passages in particular:
Ephesians 6: 10-20 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
1John 4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
1John 4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
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