The Monster in the Pharmacy
By Jessica Brodie
I talk about my faith a lot. I write about it, share about it, and think about it a lot, too. Unlike when I was younger, I’m not shy about telling others I’m a Christian, or why. While I don’t encounter a ton of Christian-bashers, I’ve dealt with my share, and at this point in my life, I think I’m pretty comfortable standing up for what I believe in.
I imagine that’s part of why I felt so caught off guard last week, when I popped into my local pharmacy to get a prescription and some hand soap … and left flustered and completely unsettled.
There, in the chairs by the pharmacy counter, sat a woman. I didn’t notice her at first, but then she made an offhanded comment in my direction about how it’s a shame people stand in line for medication but not for Jesus. She looked like an average woman—jeans, a T-shirt, her arms tanned from the sun and her gray hair curled and tousled over her shoulders.
I expected we were going to have a conversation about why the world needs Jesus, so I looked her in the eye and nodded.
“You’re right.” I told her.
Instead, she narrowed her eyes at me and scowled. “I mean you.”
I blinked. “I’m a Christian. I believe in Jesus.”
She glared and raised a thick blue Bible in the air. “Not if you’re taking medicine instead of trusting in Jesus to heal you.”
Her words prickled—because I’m a firm believer that while our Lord can and does heal people every day, He also equips doctors and scientists to develop and administer lifesaving medication, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with us taking it if it helps.
And… then I couldn’t help myself. I engaged. Or rather, it’s probably more accurate to say I got sucked into what became a draining and upsetting verbal encounter that involved her waving her Bible around shouting, “Fire and brimstone! Fire and brimstone!” while I stood there with my mouth agape trying to figure out some reasonably intelligent response…. and failing miserably.
I don’t remember everything I said, but it fell on deaf ears, and eventually I left.
The encounter was embarrassing and extraordinarily upsetting.
Part of it is because I felt she was really out of line—I felt personally attacked by someone who should have been a loving Christian sister.
Part of it was because I felt she made Christians “look bad.” Think about the way Christians are often portrayed in movies or TV shows. Instead of loving ambassadors of Christ, we’re often depicted by Hollywood as super-judgmental, extremist nutcases. That’s how she was acting! No wonder Hollywood paints us that way.
Part of it was being hugely disappointed in myself. I was supposed to “be ready” to defend my faith. As 1 Peter 3:15 urges, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (NIV). Yet I’d fumbled… been so caught off guard I hadn’t realized I’d stumbled into such a conversation, been so blown away by her Bible brandishing and wild words that I’d lost my cool.
Worst of all, part of it was the downright icky, uncomfortable feeling the whole situation gave me. There in that pharmacy, I’d felt a darkness, a slithering deceptiveness, that made me want to run home and take a shower just to get clean.
That last part was the worst of all.
I texted a friend about what had happened, and she immediately recognized what I had not. But once she said the words, I knew she was right.
That wasn’t a chance encounter between two Christians in a pharmacy. That was a spiritual battle, and I needed to put my spiritual goggles on.
“There are a lot of evil spirits working behind people,” she texted me.
My eyes opened then, and I saw. That day, I’d been rushing, caught off guard, completely oblivious, and I didn’t have my “armor of God” on as securely as I normally do.
See, in Ephesians 6:11-18, the apostle Paul tells us:
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:11-18
I “armor up” daily by reading God’s word, praying, centering myself in the Lord, and keeping the faith. But sometimes when I’m rushing or not being as intentional as I should, that armor shifts or loosens. It still protects me, but maybe I forget to buckle it tight or secure the helmet.
But I need that armor, for the battle is real.
I have no idea if the woman in the pharmacy was a demon or just overly passionate about her convictions. But that’s not the point. The point is that we must be ready every day, every hour, every moment. We don’t know when we’ll be called upon to defend our faith or cry out to the Lord for help against an evil force in the world.
But we do know that if we call upon the name of Jesus, he’ll be there.
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
