Hunker Down

I'm struggling with how to begin this post. So many things are shifting in my heart this morning, and I'm honestly not positive how much I want to make public.

I guess I'll start by saying this: This holiday season has been a struggle for my little family. We love each other, and we love the Lord, and we are so blessed in so many ways - a house, a car that works (something I don't think I'll ever take for granted after two years of driving a car with transmission issues), friends who are more like family, our health, each other.

But there is a breakthrough we have been waiting on. Expecting. Hoping for. And depending on.

This breakthrough gets delayed. Over and over again. We are promised a date. And we see that date come and go. And so we wait.

And through most of this season, I have heard one phrase in my spirit over and over again: "Hunker Down." 

 

 

I didn't realize how rarely this term is used outside of the state of Georgia. For those who aren't familiar with it, we basically use it in two situations:

One, in the midst of a bad storm or tornado. The weather man will often say, "Hunker down, this system is fast moving." In this case, he basically means, "Stay where you are, protect your head, and wait it out." There's nothing that can be done except to wait and survive.

The second use of this phrase is in a football game. (All ye fanatics can correct me if I'm wrong on this next part.) My understanding is that this phrase is used at the end of the game. The Dawgs are exhausted after playing their guts out for four quarters, we're in the lead and on defense. In this case, all we have to do is prevent the other team from scoring. It literally means, "Put your head down, grit your teeth, push back with all the might you have left, and don't give up an inch of ground."

Through this season, as the Lord speaks to my soul, "Hunker down." I have been picturing the former use of the phrase. It's a storm. There's nothing I can do. No lesson to be learned. No action to be taken. Just put my head down and make it through. A storm can't be stopped, but doesn't last forever. Just survive.

But today, as I spend time in His presence, my focus has shifted to the second use of the phrase, and a reminder that we have an Enemy.

I forget about him sometimes. I forget that our battle isn't against flesh and blood.

I am reminded of the story in Daniel 10, where God's response was delayed for three whole weeks by an attack of the Enemy.

And in the midst of it all, I see a humorous, yet sobering picture. What if, on a Saturday morning in Athens, with minutes left on the clock, when our team is ahead, we start yelling "Hunker Down Dawgs!" And when we do, the players follow through with the former meaning of the phrase - they hunch down, put a pillow over their heads, and wait for the offensive line to move past.

It just wouldn't work. It would look hilarious and infuriating at the same time. The opposing team would breeze past them and score, ending the game with a loss!!!

And I realize this has been our life for the past few months. The Lord is telling me to "Hunker Down," and I have just been covering my head and waiting. When the reality is that there is an opponent, an Enemy, doing everything he can to steal my victory.

It makes me angry. Like, boiling mad.

I don't know how or when this barrage will end, but I do know this. It's the end of the fourth quarter, and my "hunker down" is going to start looking a lot different.

Bring it on, Devil. You have no idea.