Shoot the glass!

There's a scene I've been thinking about from one of my favorite Christmas movies (JK about that, but it does technically count as it takes place on Christmas Eve)... yes, I'm talking about Die Hard... Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman at their best! lol

Anyway, there's a scene where Hans (the leader of the bad guys, played by Alan Rickman, a/k/a Professor Snape) remembers that John McClane (the good guy singlehandedly trying to stop their evil plan, played by Bruuuuce Willis) is barefoot.  Their goal is to kill McClane, but he's gotten away several times, so instead, Hans gets smarter and tells his men to "Shoot the glass!"

His men comply, of course, and the massive glass wall separating them shatters all over the floor into a million tiny, sharp, jagged shards of glass.  And it's immediately clear that McClane has two options:  Stay perfectly still and let his enemy find him and take him out... OR move quickly, knowing it will cause intense pain and bleeding, so that he can eventually continue to fight!

I'm all about the spiritual warfare metaphors, and this one fires me up.  There are very specific moments in my life where this illustration applies... where I could either give up and let the enemy succeed, or I could step up the grit factor and push forward and fight through the pain.

Our enemy knows exactly how to hit us where we are most exhausted and vulnerable.  There are times when real suffering is necessary to move forward, seasons of grief or betrayal where everything hurts and each new step you take feels more painful than the last... kinda like running barefoot over broken glass.  But if you believe in the value of life and you look to Christ as your example, you can find the inner strength to persevere through those seasons.  To shed the victim mentality and clothe yourself with strength!  To choose life over death!  To grit your teeth and stay the course!!

For whatever reason, it really helps me to remember that I have a spiritual enemy.  That some of the painful things I face are not random or coincidental, but shoot-the-glass-style planned and deliberate attacks where I'm most vulnerable.  It strengthens my inner grit and desire to persevere, and I hope it will do the same for you.  

So that's my random encouragement for anyone hurting today.  Aaaand I can't end a Die Hard post without a "Yippee-Ki-Yay!" ;-)