So I decided to continue on with my Disney Day the next day. Again, many things were noticed as I watched Peter Pan, Aladdin, and Sleeping Beauty on that fine Tuesday. I discovered that my happy little thoughts that are necessary for flight (along with faith, trust, and pixie dust) are Jesus and bacon, and that Aladdin doesn't have nipples. But the main thing that really stood out to me was the correlation between Sleeping Beauty and spiritual warfare. ![]() Most of it is contained within the last part of the movie. Right after the 3 good fairies (Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather) break Prince Phillip out of Maleficent's dungeon, and right before they're about to bust out of the whole joint, Flora says this : "Wait, Prince Phillip. The road to true love may be barred by still many more dangers, which you alone will have to face. So arm thyself with this enchanted Shield of Virtue, and this mighty Sword of Truth, for these weapons of righteousness will triumph over evil." Sound familiar?" 13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." - Ephesians 6:13-17 Granted, they changed "shield of faith" into "shield of virtue", and they swapped the "belt of truth" and "sword of the Spirit" for "sword of truth", but still, the context remains. As Christians, we're in a battle against the enemy (Devil, Satan, Lucifer, whatever you'd like to call him . . .). Whether it be in the form of lies, distractions, temptation, demon encounters, depression, etc - we're in a battle. And let's be real, you can't really fight off lies with a legitimate sword. Though that would be awesome. God equips us with other weapons and defenses to utilize in order to stand firm against the enemy : truth against the enemies lies, righteousness against immorality, peace against chaos and hardships, faith against the doubt, salvation against condemnation, and the word of God, which, like a sword, is used for both combat and as a defense. We're not supposed to attack the enemy, but stand firm against him. I love the image that the movie gives for verse 16 "16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. " Something that I LOVE and forget all too often is that God is fighting for us. It's not just us with these tools that He's given us, He's doing the brunt work of it all. Some of those arrows that the enemy shoots at us are like the ones in the movie. They start out as arrows, but God fighting for us turns them into something much less destructive. Like . . . flowers. Or bubbles! Basically, He softens the blow. Speaking of flowers . . . this actually doesn't really have anything to do with flowers, but somehow I made the connection in my mind. Probably the most beautiful thing about spiritual warfare, for me at least, is all that can come from it. Through these attacks from the enemy, God strengthens us; He uses all of the hardships and crappy situations for our benefit. Through them He produces growth, strength, endurance, peace, trust, faith, perseverance, etc. if we allow Him to. Whether the situation be battling a dragon in a forest of thorns, or battling the lies that you're not worth it while surrounded by demons. It also helps prepare us for the next battle - cause you can bet your britches the enemy isn't gonna quit! One of my all-time favorite verses is this : "Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything." - James 1:2-4 More often than not I'm reminded of His promises through the spiritual battles. Which I think is kinda funny. Here Satan is, trying to get the best of us and defeat us, and here God is, taking what Satan uses for harm and uses it for our benefit. He doesn't promise us that it will be easy - in fact, He says just the opposite. But He promises that He will walk with us every step of the way, keeping us safe (When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. - Isaiah 43:2). How does that tie into Sleeping Beauty? The symbol God gave Noah as a reminder that He keeps His promises was a rainbow : BOOM. Shaka-laka. It may not seem like a fairytale kind of life to us, but God has written our stories for us beautifully, in a way that would put Walt Disney to shame. And that my friends, is saying a lot.
3 Comments
1/21/2020 09:05:11 pm
I was just watching sleeping beauty on Disney Plus even though I watched this movie when I was little I never remembered watching it all the way through like I did today. When the fairies broke prince out of the castle and she referenced the armor of god scripture I literally about shouted and started praise dancing saying yes god yes. I love how they referenced that scripture and it literally gave us a picture of how god navigates us through spiritual warfare like the fairies we just gotta see how he does through the resources and help he gives us and us fully keeping our eyes on God waiting for his instructions like the prince did. I was blessed by that part, thank you for writing about what I saw as well. Much love to you and God bless you
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Lew
2/22/2022 06:34:44 pm
I love this! Thanks for sharing, friend ❤️
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