A hush filled the table where a spread of bread, fruit, and milk was waiting for them. The iron maiden expressed gratitude on their behalf for rest after a long journey and for a meal to strengthen them as they move forward past the great city and to a kingdom they all were yearning for.
As the iron maiden said thanks to the King, tears rushed down the daughter of enmity’s eyes.
The warrior princess grabbed hold of her hand and squeezed. Was there hope yet for her? Surely there was! How could there not be? Was one such as her, having once turned her back on the King, no longer welcome in the kingdom of light?
Starving, as soon as the iron maiden’s prayer was over, their group broke bread and ate. The warrior princess picked a bright red apple and took a bite from it, its sweetness satisfying her taste buds.
“Are you not going to eat?” the warrior princess asked their host.
“The meal was sent specifically for you. The King’s subjects still come to this city — there are many of them here, much to the disdain of the prince. That is why we are not completely lost in darkness. There are many yet who have found His light but choose to remain in the city, so they could keep kindling a flame, hoping the fire would catch and many more would embrace the light.”
“And you?” the iron maiden asked. “Do you not crave the light?”
“When one has been in darkness for a prolonged period, light becomes painful. It burns. I have been a friend of darkness for far too long, I’m afraid.”
“And yet—” the sentinel narrowed his eyes at her “—you still welcome the King’s children in your home.”
“A gesture of gratitude toward a King Who once took care of me and fed me, who still sends His children to provide for me. Maybe if I keep caring for His children, He will remember how I once cared for His gardens. Perhaps He will remember me.”
“I doubt He has forgotten you,” the warrior princess said.
As soon as the words came out of her lips, the slither came. Lies! She has partaken of the fruit I offer. One such as her can never again be a daughter of light. Why do you give her false hope?
The warrior princess shook her head to cast the voice of darkness out of her ears. She held on to her host’s hand. “If you seek the King with all your heart and your soul, you will find Him. I once went through a vast wilderness in search of Him, and now, here I am, a child of His kingdom.”
“Trapped in a city of darkness.” A sad smile appeared in the daughter of enmity’s face as she shook her head. “You might yet find a way out of this city without returning to where you came from, sojourner, but I’m afraid it is too late for me.”
The heart of the warrior princess sank at those words.
The slither turned into a snicker. You know not what is coming against you, princess. She has accepted her lot, and mark my words: you will learn to accept yours.
Manna
Verses for Meditation
Eve — Cursed: When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Genesis 3:6
“Even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.
Joel 2:12-13But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29
Author’s Reflections
It’s not too late! As long as we are alive, as long as we are breathing, as long as we walk this earth, we have hope in a God Who saves, a God Who has ransomed us and redeemed us from certain death!
Is there anyone in your life, anyone you know, who once knew God, who once walked in His ways, but eventually fell away and is now following the world’s ways? List down the names and pray for them. Ask God to reveal to you how to contend for their salvation. No matter how far gone they seem to be, God is a Restorer. There is yet hope for them. Let’s not give up in interceding for the prodigals to find their way back home and into the Father’s arms.
This is from allegorical devotional, The Warrior Bride.