Expecto Patronum!
I await a protector!
If you’re not familiar with Harry Potter, allow me to explain a few things about the wizarding world. The wizard’s prison is guarded by creatures called dementors. They are beings of despair and depression wrapped in dark robes, and they feed upon all that brings a person joy. The way to protect yourself against a dementor is through a patronus spell. A patronus is a bright symbol of joy that wards off a dementor attack. Each wizard cast a different looking patronus. Harry Potter casts a white stag, which in medieval literature was a symbol of Christ.
In the third book, The Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter’s future self casts a powerful patronus spell to protect his younger self from a dementor attack. He does so with a time-traveling gizmo and by shouting, “Expecto patronum!" which in Latin literally means, “I expect a patron,” or “I await a guardian!”
I await a guardian. Spiritual analogies abound. I think J.K. Rowling intended them.
First, our future self knows something our younger self doesn’t. If we were to look back at what brought us despair in our earlier days, we would have words of hope and joy to protect our younger selves.
Second, faith in Christ is the patronus that defeats all the devil’s whispers of despair and depression. To call out to the Lord in faith is to await His guardianship. We wait for Him to protect our thoughts. We wait for Him to defend the good He’s making of our lives. We wait for him to protect our righteousness. We wait for Him to protect our children. We wait for Him to bring about freedom and relief.
Third, Harry Potter has to practice casting a Patronus so that he will be ready for an attack. Likewise, we, as believers, need to practice faith in the face of debilitating attacks. This means we will have debilitating attacks, times of feeling hopeless or helpless or joyless. Each time they happen, we have a chance to practice our hope in an almighty protector. That is, we get to practice waiting for our everlasting, all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good God to rescue us. And He will.
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Praying with you as you wait!