Something wasn’t right. The wiper blades on her car had been flipped up, and she hadn’t done that. Then two shifty-eyed men wearing masks and hoodies ominously approached. “Dear God,” she whispered. “Help!”

A few days ago, my daughter and her friend were targeted for assault by a small, but very organized and methodical,  group of men at 1:30 p.m. just in front of a health club. While the two were inside, a man shadowed them, but it wasn’t uncommon for people to exercise on equipment behind them. Meanwhile, another person outside had marked her car by flipping up the wiper blades. Once outside, the girls managed to get in the car and quickly lock the doors, but then the agitated men blocked the car. At some point, they angrily backed off, and my daughter and friend were able to drive away unharmed—a definite intervention from heaven!
We are all targeted by the devil, but I am reminded of Psalm 34:7 where “the angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.”
In this issue you will see clearly the spiritual battle we are fighting—for here and eternity—for the lives of the people we seek to save. The enemy comes “to steal, and to kill, and to destroy,” but Jesus comes to give life “more abundantly” (John 10:10).

That battle may be taken up in direct demon harassment (see pages 22 and 26). Or it may be taken up through discouragement (pages 5, 6, 12 and 24). Or it could be through persecution (page 19), or through physical attack by people around us.

The good news is that God promises us escape, and His angels assist us every day in every trial. Lean on Jesus. Trust Him. Deliverance is near.
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19).

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