17 Now the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 18 And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.” Luke 10:17-20 (LSB)
There was a period back in the late 1990’s in which I found myself in a spiritual desert. In late 1991 I was elected as chairman of the Deacons at our church in the Oklahoma City area. However, just a few weeks later we lost our pastor and associate pastor….
For most of 1992 we had no pastor. We had men come in to fill the pulpit during that time, but that is not the same thing as having a pastor. I and the other Deacon officers did much of the administration work and decision making and ministry to the body. Just a few weeks after this started I was informed by the company I worked for that they were laying off nearly everyone and I was not one of those they were going to keep.