warfare

what is spiritual warfare? that’s one of the first things the Lord taught me in my walk with Him. what it is, and how to do it. the lessons I learned then have held up every time, in the thirty years that have passed since.

first thing I learned was to put God’s Word first and last. the highest authority, and the final authority. that meant that no matter what my circumstances indicated, the Word of God overruled any conflicting conclusions.

this, then, is how the Word of God became the anchor for my soul. no matter what I see happening around me, or what is going on in my life, I can be stable and unmoved, like a little boat that’s anchored to a rock. God has made certain declarations about what He accomplished through Jesus’ death and resurrection, and promises about what He will do for those in covenant with Him which are guaranteed through that same death and resurrection. His Word never changes, so it is always certain, no matter how things may look. the only way to lose out on these promises is to give it away through unbelief.

so where is the warfare in that?

its in the pressures that assault the mind, and try to influence the emotions, to stir up fear and uncertainty that maybe this is too great, or maybe you did something to bring this on your own head, or maybe … and a whole bunch of religious conjecture. the pressure can be relentless. things will be said by others that will lead your attention to the circumstances, and will work toward discouraging you. things will seem to not happen to relieve the problems. you know how it can be.

the warfare, then, is to stand on the Word no matter what you see or hear to the contrary. you may have to speak the promises out loud to yourself over and over, if that’s what it takes to quiet your mind and turn it back to the Word that never changes. you may have to avoid discussing things with those with good intentions, but who want to explain why God is allowing you to go through this.

God doesn’t just step out of the way and let things happen. on the contrary, He has vanquished the enemy in three ways through the death and resurrection of Jesus. hebrews 3:14, 1 john 3:8, and colossians 2:15 is the proof. further more, He has put satan under our feet, giving us authority over him in Jesus’ name. He also gave us His own armor, His Word as a sword, and His faith as a shield. that doesn’t sound like someone who would then arbitrarily step aside and let us be attacked, or go though something. that sounds like Some One who armed us and equipped us to be able to overcome whatever gets thrown at us. that sounds like Some One who wants us to win.

so the deciding factor then is not God, but us.

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