“Much is said about bravery, perhaps more should be said about fear. A great friend of mine told me not to be afraid, that when the time came I would find my strength. I found out that my fear was my strength. A fear that darkness might prevail. A fear that good people could lose their lives to it. I am afraid of the evil that will come if i don’t do something to stop it. I am afraid of dragons.”
Kendrick of Elwood – Dragon Hunter (2008), Steve Shimek
The magnitude of the war being fought all around us has never been more real or clear then it has the last couple of years. In this war that we are all engaged in even if we deny it’s existence (a dangerous stand to take), we are not alone. It may seem we are, but we are not. Evil’s fog and smoke often blind us to our fellow soldiers.
The most difficult and scariest battles are the battles we face within ourselves. So terrifying the prospect of facing these monsters we deny, run, mask, or fantasize the image away. The dragon only grows larger. Some men come to a point where they become aware all the ways they avoided facing these inner demons are failing and they must now turn and face the dragons or be devoured.
Enslaved to satan’s lies, running from having to face himself, one man found himself at this divergence. He chose to turn and face the dragons. He fought the darkness within. By the grace of God he finally began to win the battles. The freedom and peace he had so desperately sought was finally found in the very place he had once believed enslaved him. So grateful for the victory, for God’s faithfulness he chose to share with others his war story. His story has inspired, comforted and given hope to a great multitude of people. I count myself blessed to be among them. This man and his loving wife have profoundly changed my life. They have taught me many lessons on hunting for the dragons in my life and destroying them.
This week the earthly battle has ended for this brave man. As he sits at the feet of our Lord and Savior I am certain he continues to fight against dragons through intercessory prayer.
Thank you Lord for this mighty warrior for Your Kingdom. You have called him home to Eternal intimacy within Your loving embrace. May Your comfort and peace surround and fill his family till united again in our eternal home.
In loving memory of Robert E. Steinkamp.
For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places.
Ephesians 6:12