By Eunice Herchenroeder

My husband Mike and I were enjoying a quiet evening at home. We’d finished our post-dinner clean up and were relaxing in our favorite chairs reading books we’d just received in a care package from his mom.

Suddenly the quiet was shattered by the ferocious barking of our guard dogs followed by what sounded like a small male cat howling in anger and fear. Puzzled, we headed to the front door to take a look outside.

The dogs were crouched by the front stoop, staring hard and barking at the cat that wasn’t there. As we stood there mystified, the “cat” cried out again. And again. And yet again.And then Mike spotted it: a green tree frog plastered on the screen wire on our security door. The iron grill work that helped secure it against intruders slowed down the dogs. But they’d found their prey, and both they and the frog knew his eventual fate. His howls neither deterred the dogs nor impacted the outcome of the encounter. He was doomed.

The incident reminds me of the nature of the battle that we are here to engage. Its eventual outcome has already been decided. God wins. The work we do – bringing God’s life-transforming Word to people in the language of their hearts – has Satan and his henchman cornered. They can fight back, but the noise they make is the sound of terror and defeat.

Rising crime rate, unchecked violence against women and children, crumbling infrastructure, headlines trading accusations of corruption – I’m surrounded every day by reminders that we serve on a battlefield. Sometimes it feels overwhelming. When that happens, I think about that tree frog and our guard dogs. Satan is screaming in anger, terror, and defeat. We and our co-workers are engaging the battle. And we already know the eventual outcome.

Eunice serves as the Director of Support Services and as missionary care facilitator.