Standing in the Battle

Have you ever been through something that teaches you to be more confident?

I tend to doubt myself, second guessing my thoughts and opinions. But over the past couple of weeks, I think God has growing me in confidence, in an unusual way. I guess I’ll call it the power cut saga!

I had a power cut in my flat, and the process of resolving it was tricky, to say the least! There were many obstacles: needing access to another property, a missing key, needing to organise other people being available, waiting for people to be free…

God was so very faithful, providing at each stage, but it was definitely a looong challenge to work through!

One morning, I woke up, switched on the light, and nothing happened. I tried another light. Nothing. I went downstairs and checked the fuse box. Nothing had tripped. I researched what to do, and called the electric providers. They talked me through some checks, and said someone would be out soon. He came out after a while, and said that we needed access to the flat downstairs, because my electricity connection went through the downstairs flat.

My neighbour downstairs was away. I called her son. He was away, too. He said he would try to get me a spare key, but it couldn’t be for a couple of days.

The electrician put me a on a generator and I was very, very thankful for it. That cute little red generator gave me lights, heating, a working fridge and freezer, a charged phone and a laptop… but it couldn’t handle a kettle, a microwave or an oven, never mind a hoover or washing machine. Some faithful electricians filled it up with petrol every few hours (I was so thankful for them!). I borrowed a big flask and filled it up with hot water wherever I could. Kind neighbours helped out with hot water and access to a microwave… and multiple friends offered help!

I was on that generator for a few days and I became fond of that little red machine purring in my garden!

The days passed and the spare key should have been available… but it turned out that it was lost! A thorough search was underway. I texted friends and asked them to pray. I prayed, asking God to help them find that key. It didn’t turn up. There was no other key in the country! Another key was abroad, with my neighbour. It couldn’t get to me until someone flew back with it… and someone could… in a few days. I wobbled and stressed, and called the electricity company again. They said I could stay on a generator for a few more days.

I prayed. My friends prayed. Someone knocked on my door: an electrician, talking to me about options. He said he would get me a bigger generator, which came the next day. Believe me, it was big, and loud! I wish I’d thought to take a picture! I didn’t really mind the noise. I like white noise, and I was just thankful to be able to use my oven, my hoover, my kettle and my washing machine!

Then my boiler started giving an error message. I started thinking about getting help with the boiler, and someone suggested calling the electricity company first, in case the problem was linked. Someone came out, and, after tests, said the generator was faulty!

That wasn’t the only problem with the generator. I hadn’t realised how loud that generator was. It turned out it was disturbing the neighbours, keeping them awake.

I was thoroughly frazzled by this point, with a broken boiler and stressed neighbours. The electrician said he would get me another generator, but I was worried. I didn’t want to keep my neighbours awake!

In all the flurry that morning, I hadn’t made time for a proper prayer time with the Lord. So I went into my living room and prayed. I texted some friends and asked them to pray. I sensed I should just stay where I was, praying.

And God worked! A solution appeared without any work from me! Some other neighbours so generously offered to link my electricity cable to theirs (before the meter, so they didn’t get charged!). I had nothing to do with that suggestion: it came from them, and it was all decided before I knew it was an option! I was so grateful, and relieved!

The link-up happened. Through a cable through my letterbox, I had power! The boiler came back to life. A bit tearful with stress and gratitude, I carried on, expecting the key to turn up in a few days, and all to be resolved.

The key appeared. I called the electricians, expecting a resolution quickly now! By then, various neighbours were involved, and I had to arrange windows of time when the electricians could come when everyone was available. It took some doing!

At that point, the electricians were swamped with call-outs (it wasn’t their fault- they take care of many emergencies, and they were doing their best). They asked me to stay in various times, in case they could make it, but days passed, and they were too busy. I prayed. My friends prayed. I got pretty stressed! I was frazzled, using so many spare and not-so-spare moments to make phone calls, and unable to make anything happen.

And one friend, after praying, said that she felt like I needed to stand in faith, not just inside but also in the situation, being firm and taking steps to make sure my case would be resolved. Being kind and Christlike, yes, but also standing firm… which is something I’m not good at doing with other people! I tend to second guess myself and back down, but I felt like God was asking me to keep coming back, again and again, reminding the electricity company of my case and that I needed them to help me, and trying to stand gently but firmly in place.

And so I tried to. I called the electricians, again and again. I kept praying.

One night, I was praying, and I sensed that God wanted me to just stay praying into the situation, listening to a song about spiritual battle. I did. I stayed praying into it and it felt powerful! After a while, it felt like something broke.

The next day, I got a call from electrician. He was at my house… and I wasn’t, because I was at the office! He gave me his number, though, and he began to make things move.

The next day, electricians came out. They got into my neighbour’s house, and tried to fix the problem. Even then, it wasn’t simple. It was a bigger problem that they had hoped. A cable under the ground had deteriorated and needed replacing, and it meant digging, on another day (or maybe for two!). I prayed. My friends prayed. I had planned a weekend away, and I went, making plans for digging as soon as I got back.

At last, the digging happened, and the cable was replaced. It turned out that the job was easier than they thought. They told me in the morning that it would probably take two days, but it was done within a few hours!

In the process, I got to share with various electricians about the power of prayer. I got to give out gospel tracts and share about Jesus. And I got to learn about standing, firm but calm, in faith. Firm, but gentle. Persistent, but kind.

No, I sure didn’t do it perfectly. I wish I had! But I learned a lot. I don’t need to second guess myself. I am called to be gracious, yes, but I can also stand. I don’t have to back down.

And it worked! I have my own electricity back now! Various people have heard about about the power of prayer. And I’ve learned a lot.

In Christ (you can find out more about what that means here), even in the battle, even through my insecurities, I can stand, and God will help me win the victory!