The master deceiver is waging war on you under the pretense of a whispered lullaby, a seductive and attractive tune. Can you hear it? Or have your spiritual senses become so dull that you can hardly make out his deadly chords?

Wake up, O daughter of Zion!

You have a very distinct identity. You belong to someone. You are not just another student in the classroom, another sibling in the family, or another face at work. You are the daughter of a King! You are the bride of Christ himself. This sets you apart and distinguishes you from many. You are of great value!  You have been claimed by Jehovah God to be his own.

And you are under attack.

The battle waged against you is serious and deadly. Perhaps you are not feeling the intensity of this warfare right now or you struggle to see the earnestness in my warning.

Take a moment to stop and reflect on your walk as a godly young woman. Seriously search your heart. How different does your life look from that of the young women of the world? Do you find yourself enamored with their beguiling vanities? Are you reading what they read, watching what they watch? As you scroll through their posts and pictures, are you able to perceive the bewitching melody of Satan’s deceit and attack? He is there. He is there in the constant barrage of images and standards that you feel pressured to meet in order to be “something.” He oppresses you with the mentality that you need more, deserve more, must have more in order to be truly happy. Are you listening? Can you see his well-orchestrated and devilish plot?

Wake up, O daughter of Zion. It is all a lie!

The world and its pleasures will leave you empty. Satan wants to distract you from what you know is the truth. He wants to confuse you and weaken you so that you begin to value what they value. Their goals become your goals, their dreams, your dreams, until there is little to distinguish you from them. You find yourself exhausted with the striving, weary with the comparisons, and ultimately full of discontent and envy. Do you hear his siren song? Or have you pitched your tent so close to the world that you can no longer distinguish the tune?

“Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thess. 5:6).

The battle is intense and your enemy relentless. Satan is no amateur. His work is calculated and very subtle. Listen to what Abraham Kuyper has to say about the attacks placed on you. “One comes along who numbs us, dims the light, drugs us, and gently rocks us so that we are literally overcome with sleep again.” “Satan is always standing right there with his bottle of chloroform. And the minute he detects any movement at all, he reaches over and applies more of his numbing poison.” “The one who drugs and numbs the soul is watching you closely and he’ll take advantage of you every chance he gets” (Honey from the Rock, ).

And now listen to the sharp warning from your Bridegroom himself about your personal foe.  John 8:44—“He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” Can you hear him? He is busy, so busy, with the lies that are steadily lulling you to sleep.

Do you find yourself distracted by his deceptions? Are you repeatedly losing ground and growing sluggish in the fight? Wake up! And be encouraged. You are not alone in the battle. The battle does not depend on you! Your Lord Jesus Christ has won the victory and triumphs openly over Satan and his host (Col. 2:15). Remember who you are. You are united to Christ. And being united to him, it is impossible for you to be forsaken.

You are his workmanship, and you are perfect in Christ Jesus. With this knowledge that the outcome is secure, you can now fight with renewed zeal.

Your King has graciously placed you in the safety of Zion and in the protective sphere of the covenant! He has set watchmen on the walls for your benefit. Your pastor and elders, your parents and teachers, are on the forefront of the battle. They work tirelessly to shake you awake and keep you from spiritual lethargy.

Do you recognize their guidance and admonition as painful and exhaustive work on their behalf for the protection of your very soul? Or is it more probable that you see your parents as worrying too much and being far too restrictive? Your teachers are a nuisance and simply get in the way of you having fun. How about your classmates and friends? They too have been placed by your side to aid you in the battle. Are you helping one another? Do you take seriously a faithful friend’s correction and leadership? Perhaps the admonitions and warnings of the watchmen sound more abrasive to you than the devil’s haunting tunes of pleasure. Wake up! The watchmen are rousing you to continue the fight!

It is of utmost importance, dear daughter, to be alert and active in the battle. Spend time in God’s word. Esteem it, read it, study it. Grow in your knowledge of what your King says is important, worthwhile, and beautiful.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Phil. 4:8).

Revive your listless soul with his truths. Let these words be the only words that define who you are. Refuse to listen to the world and its lies. In doing this, you will find that Satan’s once so soothing lullaby has become a harsh and discordant sound to your ears.

Wake up, O daughter of Zion!

And stay awake.

May this issue of Beacon Lights convict you of the urgency to stay alert. May you fervently strive to become the young woman God has called you to be: a biblically literate young woman in the word, a woman of many names, the beautiful bride of Christ.

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation…” (Zech. 9:9).

Dawn Engelsma is a wife and mother and attends Byron Center Protestant Reformed Church in Byron Center, MI.

Originally published April 2020, Vol 79 No 4