I moved to Africa firmly convinced of the biblical reality of spiritual warfare, but I never expected my missionary service to include opposing evil spirits in our little bush church.
During our term in southern Togo, my wife, Jackie, and I, with our five children, served in a small but committed church plant in the village of Patatoukou. The rural village was marked by a history of intense spiritual warfare. Animistic rituals and sacrifices were part of daily life, as were fear and fatalism. Yet the light of Christ shone through our congregation every Sunday as the believers’ exuberant worship, singing, and dancing echoed through the village.
One week, a young woman hesitantly entered the palm-thatched structure in which we met. She told us that she was tormented by evil spirits who had threatened to make her go insane if she stopped worshiping them and sacrificing to them. The fear in her eyes was evident.
Over the next several weeks, my translator and I shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with her. Each time we sat with her, we emphasized that Christ defeated the power of sin and death on the cross, and, through his shed blood, offers redemption and hope.
“Can I serve both Jesus and the spirits?” she wondered. She explained that the spirits had promised to help her take revenge on her enemies. She did not recognize the extent to which she was imprisoned to the spirits and to her own fear.
Finally, one Sunday, she asked us to pray for her. My translator and I called out to God, contending for her freedom. At the mention of the blood of Christ, she began to scream. Her body tensed and strained as the evil spirits tormented her. We continued our fervent prayer that she would find freedom in Christ.
After she calmed down, we told her that she had a choice: “Will you choose to follow the evil spirits because they threatened to drive you mad? Or will you choose to trust in God’s only Son, Jesus, who loves you and gave his life to set your soul free?”
Sadly, she could not let go of her fear. She chose to remain bound by her demons.
That day, the congregation witnessed the anguish of the life they had left. They were reminded of how the Lord had freed them. Even though it was a sad story for that young woman, the believers were reaffirmed in their faith. They stood confident in their decision to leave the spirits of their village and follow the God who saves.
So many times since that day, I have considered: How often do we as believers choose to be bound to sin? Even we who know the power of Christ must choose to follow him over temptations to continue in our pride, bitterness, envy, or desire for control.
How often do we enter the spiritual battle, even going to the ends of the earth in Togo, while neglecting our own relationship with God and forgetting the armor he provides?
In Patatoukou, we were reminded that the chains are real, but so is the cross. May we live out our freedom in Christ.
