Monday, October 15, 2007

Where are you??

Do you ever ask God this question? I've been so aware of spiritual warfare recently. It has been swirling around me in a way that cannot be denied. My friends across the country and across the world are dealing with it. Threats to marriages, threat to faith, threats to life itself.

I am amazed at how few Christians deal with spiritual warfare, or even acknowledge it's existance.

12For 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. Ephesians 6:12

There it is.....we are fighting a battle against that which we cannot see. If it just ended there, that would be completely frightening. How can we fight that which we cannot see? I struggle with this a lot. I deal with depression. I can't see it, but I sure know when it is in control! I deal with negative self image. Lies from the enemy, I know, but when I am in the throes of it, it can be pretty overwhelming. Subtle things, yes. Not the same as my marriage being attacked, or my life being threatened, but threats to the kingdom all the same.

Luckily, we are given what we need to fight this battle...

13Therefore 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. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And 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 saints. Ephesians 6:13-18

So keep on preparing yourself, keep on praying, be alert. Don't just assume you are having 'bad luck'. Are you in the midst of battle and you don't even know it?

Maybe that is truly the question..."Where are you?" Are you aware of what is swirling around you? On your knees ,my friend, is where we will fight this battle. In the word is where we will fight this battle.


The Battle Belongs to the Lord
Words and music by Jamie Owens-Collins

In heavenly armour we'll enter the land
The battle belongs to the Lord
No weapon that's fashioned against us shall stand
The battle belongs to the Lord

We sing glory and honor
Power and strength to the Lord
(repeat)

The power of darkness comes in like a flood
The battle belongs to the Lord
He's raised up a standard, the power of His blood
The battle belongs to the Lord

We sing glory and honor
Power and strength to the Lord
(repeat)


When your enemy presses in hard do not fear
The battle belongs to the Lord
Take courage my friend, your redemption is near
The battle belongs to the Lord

We sing glory and honor
Power and strength to the Lord
(repeat)

2 comments:

erin richardson said...

I know, oh, I know what you mean. If we're Christians, we believe in God (we believe God) and we believe God is good. If we believe in good, then we believe in bad. Therefore, if we believe in a good God, then we must also believe in something evil that opposes him - that would be Satan, the Enemy. And even fairy tales don't get this one wrong: good and evil are always fighting.

Just because we can't see fat, feathery little angels fighting these little red guys with pitchforks, that doesn't mean there isn't some kind of battle going on. Hence SPIRITUAL warfare, and not CARTOON warfare.

Yes, yes, yes. I wish I could tell you I was always on my knees, and always fighting the battle for God, with God, but that would probably be a lie. Sometimes I get trampled. And sometimes I start to believe the lies that Satan tells me. "I forget I'm loved," I always say, because it's true. I forget I'm loved and then I get depressed and it just goes downhill from there. That's where the enemy wages his war in my life. He convinces me I'm not worthy of anybody's love: God's or man's. Which is total bull. God says he loves me and that's that. And he has given me people that love me dearly and fight for me on their knees when I can't seem to manage it on my own. That's love. That's God.

So that's a random assortment of agreement & my thoughts on the matter.

And by the way, you're hot stuff. :-)

love & hugs ... erin.

Dawn said...

As one who is stuck right smack dab in the middle of a spiritual battle myself, I thank you so much for the reminders! We cannot get through this alone and on our knees is the only way to defeat this enemy!