My heart jumped when out of the corner of my eye I saw a group of uniformed men walking into the alley in front of the building we were in. We had around 100 loud and excited children in the building participating in our vacation Bible school. Knowing that telling children about Jesus and Christian values was more of an illegal offense than telling adults, our contacts specifically chose this building for its obscurity and somewhat hidden location. Now I was witnessing a potentially dangerous situation. Having that many children in one place is not a quiet affair, especially since they were all participating in games and songs that were more fun the louder everyone was. 

I wasn’t quite sure what to do, so I said a quick but heartfelt prayer and from behind the walls and window of that room I pointed to the men and said, “Turn around. There’s nothing here. These aren’t the people you are looking for.” Akin to Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars when he waved his fingers and used the Force to make the stormtroopers let them pass, the uniformed men suddenly stopped and then turned around. Nothing in the alley would have explained this strange behavior. They looked like they were on a mission but abruptly changed their minds and went on their way. The children and our volunteers were none the wiser for the incident. 

I am reminded of Ephesians 6:12 — “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” In Christ, we have power and authority over these powers and rulers of darkness. Jesus gave us all authority over the power of the enemy. So, as we face seen and unseen obstacles, we can be reassured that we do not have to face them alone. We have a mighty army and the Leader of that army backing us up. We may not be Jedi, but we do have a Force working in and through us to oppose all that the enemy throws at us.