Preparation for Battle

Every morning when you and I open our eyes, we are at war. And it is a real war regarding real issues, and it demands our full attention. According to Scripture, spiritual warfare is a certainty, "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." (Eph 6:12). And our enemy is far too real, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (1Pe 5:8). This is a clear, concise warning yet hardly anyone takes it seriously. However, the Word is clear about it: Each day, you and I wake up to a real, personal battle we must wage. Every morning we must stand our ground anew, ready to do battle at a moment's notice for the devil never tires. He is relentless in his fight to claim us as his own and if we aren't standing firm on the Truth, he will cause us nothing but pain and trouble, and heart ache and failure.

Failure to recognize this vital truth results in painful defeat over and over and over again. Many dedicated believers ... yes, Christians ... go about frustrated and confused because we continually experience failure in our spiritual lives. Just when we think we have finally conquered a temptation, it rears its ugly head again and crushes us back down in defeat. It happens over and over again during our entire Christian walk. And our battle never gets easier. In fact, it gets harder each and every day. The more we discredit the devil, the more he focuses his attention on us. We are God's children and the devil wants us to fall before him in defeat. Nothing would please him more.

Don't be fooled by the enemy! One of the reasons so many believers are defeated is because too often the Enemy catches us completely unaware. He catches us totally off guard. Many of us, and at times probably all of us, are simply going about our days without giving a serious thought to the war being fought in our own lives. We have not, as a people, changed much since the days leading up to the flood. (Ge 6-8) We are still too complacent and too wrapped up in our own thoughts to pay much attention to spiritual things. The everyday and mundane has lulled many of us to sleep. And the monotony of our lives has too often taken over our common sense.

And at the same time, many develop an almost calloused attitude toward the Bible. Many might cry out, "God, if Your Word is as mighty and powerful as You say, then why isn't it working in my life?" Many of us fail to realize that the problem is ours. And we often make the mistake of thinking that it isn't working when it really is. Just the fact that we are now desiring a change is proof of success. If it wasn't working, we wouldn't be desiring godly transformation. Just the fact that we long to leave our old life behind is proof that it's working. So we mustn't give up or give in. We must stand our ground, with the Word of God as our sure foundation.

The issue is not that the Word is lacking in power. No, the real problem is we often fail to recognize the intense spiritual battle raging around us like a giant torrent, washing away at our banks and weakening us from the inside. We are at war, and it is a fight for our lives ... not our physical lives, but our spiritual lives. The only way to make it easier on ourselves is by preparing for combat. And we do this by prayerfully reading the Word and applying it to our lives and by staying close to the Lord in thought and deed. He longs to have us near Him and He desires nothing less than absolute surrender and when we find ourselves totally dependent, totally rested on Him; relying completely on His Word and standing firm, we come away from this spiritual war stronger and better people of God. And He isn't ashamed to call us His own and He will never desert us nor leave us to fight this battle with our own might. (He 13:5).

The most important thing to know is that Christianity does work. Even in the midst of a great raging battle, even in the midst of our many failures, Christianity works! And the best part of all is that the victory has already been given to us. We are more than conquerors, (Ro 8:37). We walk away with more than what we started with!

I finished the scarf I started last Friday night. I made good time considering I finished it last night (that makes it a two-day scarf)! Not bad!! I started another one last night before going to bed. The one I finished was red and I didn't have a red one. I already have a blue one like the one I'm now working on so I will have to find someone to give it to. And I think I know just who.

The phone just rang and it was my son inviting me over for dinner tonight. That will be fun. We're going to eat a little early because I have a meeting at 6:30 tonight. I have meetings all week. Most at night but one in the day time. So I'm going to be busy this week.

The gang called me from Georgia this morning just to say hello. I called up the webcam and watched them on my cousin's porch. They called yesterday too so I feel really special being thought about while they're all together and I'm out here.

Looks like I'm going to have to wash my car today. I'm glad I didn't wash it yesterday because we got another light rain last night. I wish it would rain hard enough to rinse my car completely off instead of this piddly little stuff that only succeeds in messing it up, making mud all over.

Well I need to get busy and get some things done. I need to wash and blow dry my hair and hopefully get around to that carwash I've talked about so I shouldn't stay on the computer too long. My days by myself have felt so good. I like the quiet. It gives my mind rest. I'm not having to struggle to hear every little thing. That gets exhausting. Trust me on that one. Just not having the TV on all the time helps a lot. So until tomorrow...