When Katha and I lived in Mesquite, Texas, we enjoyed singing with the Mesquite Civic Chorus. However, one evening before rehearsal I decided to steal my wife away to go to the local cinema for a much needed date night. That’s where we experienced the movie, THE PRINCESS BRIDE.
This movie is a classic and one of my all time favorites. If you have never seen it, it’s certainly worth checking out.
In one scene Buttercup and her hero, Westley, are running from the bad guys and end up in the Fire Swamp where they encounter huge rats that are called Rodents of Unusual Size…or ROUSes.
Westley protects his sweetheart by fighting off the dangers of the Fire Swamp including the ROUSes. Of course, as the movie is a comedy the fight sequences are hilarious and, alas, the ROUSes are defeated. Westley saves the day along with the damsel in distress.
In my spiritual life God has been teaching me to fight another kind of ROUS. There are times when I enounter RIVALS OF UNUSUAL SIZE that want to cause me great harm and destruction. These rivals of God’s ways are very real and know just the right times to raise their ugly heads in my life.
In a new place where God has called me to a new work, the rivals called “defeat”, “fear”, “doubt”, “regret” and “insecurity” can appear before me in unusally large sizes. My only defense against these monsters is God’s Word. It gives me great encouragement to hear Him say, “Be strong and courageous. Do not tremble or be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go!” (Joshua 1:9)
Though the movie was great fun, facing God’s enemies is no laughing matter. I am thankful for the sword of His Word!
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