Recently I was asked if I knew what it entailed to be a Christian, with all the spiritual warfare and everyday being a battle, would I have become a Christian? My first thought was no. It is a lot of work to be a Christian and to live a life as close to righteous as we can. Everyday is a choice, are you going to get up and fight Satan or not?
In the past few months, I have seen a lot of spiritual warfare. Back in the states, I didn’t recognize it. I lived a life thinking that spiritual attacks and darkness only happened in other countries. You know where they don’t live in a civilization that has overcome that. BS. I recently read the book Wild at Heart (if you haven’t read it, you need to) and it changed my entire perspective on what spiritual warfare is. Spiritual attacks aren’t just these huge displays of possession or witchcraft, it can be in something as small as a fight with a friend or loved one. Satan is trying to weaken us. He wants us to blame ourselves and find ourselves worthless so we don’t turn to God. He wants us to feel like everything that goes wrong is our fault. Lies.
In Wild at Heart, it says, “Those men have already been taken out because they’ve swallowed the Enemy’s first line of attack: ‘I’m not here—this is all just you.’ You can’t fight a battle you don’t think exists.” Living as a Christian, we are constantly under attack. Through our thoughts, our friends, our interactions, but we are called for more. We are called to put on our armor of God and fight every single day.
It is so tempting to say no and to not get up and fight everyday. In the movie God’s Not Dead, there is a scene where a son and his mother who is dying of dementia are having a conversation about their lives and it says,
Mark: You prayed and believed your whole life. Never done anything wrong. And here you are. You’re the nicest person I know. I am the meanest. You have dementia. My life is perfect. Explain that to me!
Mina’s Mother: Sometimes the devil allows people to live a life free of trouble because he doesn’t want them turning to God. Their sin is like a jail cell, except it is all nice and comfy and there doesn’t seem to be any reason to leave. The door’s wide open. Till one day, time runs out, and the cell door slams shut, and suddenly it’s too late.
Satan allows us to live comfortably so we aren’t in search of God. He doesn’t want us to figure him out. He wants us to live in ignorance, until it’s too late.
After realizing this, my first thought is good grief that is exhausting. What if I don’t want to fight everyday? Is it really worth all that? Yes. We are only on this earth for a short time. If we fight for it, our reward is ETERNAL. We get to FOREVER walk the streets of gold and live in Heaven with God. Our life is only a small fraction of time and we can push through that. So make that choice. Get up every morning and put on that Armor of God and fight your battles. Because the glory of God is waiting for you. Every single one of us has a place waiting in heaven if we choose to follow Him.
