From some of your comments and emails, I wasn't the only one having a day like that. So, I postured myself to not be a victim, but to recognize that pain is a standard occupational hazard for human beings, and particularly those who pose a threat to our enemy.

And so, today dawns and though the people I know who were hurting continue to struggle, I personally am not back on my heels reacting like a punching bag for the enemy of my soul.

In fact, upon reflection, I like the ebb and flow of this life. I won't be surprised or sidelined by pain, and I'm going to make the devil pay for coming after me. It's not braggadocio; it's just a fact - in a spiritual sense, I'm a violent man, determined to war on behalf of those I love and those that Jesus targeted for love - the poor in spirit, the widow and the orphan.

We Jesus-followers, if our eyes are fixed on his kingdom and his righteousness, are forever encroaching our enemy's territory. We're at least a nuisance to him, and some of us are a spiritual force to be reckoned with. I love meeting people like that and aspire to be one myself.

Our enemy's general strategy is to keep humans hopeless and isolated, but in the power of the Holy Spirit, we bring them hope and connection. This looks like force to the enemy - the kind of force that comes when you're gritting your teeth and have filled the cup of your soul to the brim with determination.

My prayer is that many of you who have been wounded and sidelined, benumbed or restrained, would regain the gleam in your eye. Be a man or woman of violence. Seek the kingdom as the focus of your life, don't be deterred along the way, and Jesus promises*, your life will be full to overflowing.