Blindsided
Hello, Chapel Hill!
I have a friend who flew attack bombers for the Navy. He was involved in the very first attack in the Iraq war. He tells of completing his run and then, suddenly, having alarms going off in his cockpit warning of an enemy behind him. He pulled a hard left, look back, and saw a string of explosions drawing closer and closer to his aircraft. He pulled up sharply just as a shell exploded—right where his plane had been!
He tells me that the attacks from the front weren’t as unnerving. He could see them coming. It was the attacks from his “six;” his blindside—THOSE were the ones every pilot dreaded. The blindside.
Another friend played on a college football team and was screaming down the field on a kickoff return when a guy clocked him from behind. His head was ringing so badly, he just stumbled right off the field! Blindside!
Every one of us has been blindsided at one time or another. Sometimes physically…but often spiritually. It is the Devil’s favorite ploy; to hit us where we aren’t expecting it. When we didn’t see it coming.
2020 has been a blindside year, hasn’t it? COVID. Lock-downs. Racial unrest. Violent riots. Political division in this country as bitter as anything we’ve seen since the Civil War. Who saw this coming? And we find ourselves, at times, stumbling a bit—trying to figure how to respond.
The Israelites faced the same issue. They were blindsided—literally—by a group of dirty-fighters called Amalekites. Amalekites didn’t attack from the front. They attacked from the back, hitting the weak and the stragglers. And God said, “That’s enough!”
This Sunday, I want to tell you that story—and share with you what I learn about how God’s people ought to respond when we are blindsided! It is one of the most inspiring of Old Testament stories and I think it will encourage you. If you are able, I hope you’ll join us in person!
One other thing, we are working hard to find creative ways to support working parents in our community who are struggling to make a living AND educate their children. If you would be willing to volunteer to assist us by either tutoring or helping to look after elementary, middle, or high school students for any number of hours during the week, we really need to hear from you. Contact Tina Picard if you are interested.
Pastor Mark