Did I know the World Race would be difficult at times? Of course I did.
Did I know there would be a discrepancy between expectation and reality? Sure did.
Was I prepared for a war? I am now.
One of the things we do on the race is create a “There-Here Path” for our squad, team, and self. It goes like this:
There is the end goal you are striving for and want to arrive at.
Here is where you currently are, state of mind or being.
Path is the collection of steps and small victories that get you to There.
My there is 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic words. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.”
It’s pretty self-explanatory, but it would be pretty life changing to be constantly choosing joy, constantly speaking to God and letting Holy Spirit guide my every thought, word, and action, constantly accepting the truth people speak over me, constantly thinking carefully about every little thing for the best outcome, and constantly choosing good things over evil things.
It’s a great thing to strive for. To me, it’s like the blue print to actually achieve the golden rule or loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself because you have to choose that thought process when loving gets tough. It’s the blue print to living like Christ. It’s “God’s will” for us.
The enemy doesn’t like that.
As I have been pursuing my There of 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22, I have been attacked by the enemy. I’ve been praying to grow in my There and let God take my thoughts, words, and actions captive and focused on glorifying Him. I’ve been aiming to be a man after God’s own heart and living out 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22. The enemy doesn’t want that. Satan’s been trying to trip me up with old tricks like self-criticism, insecurity, depression, bitterness. He has tried to affect my mood and distract me with negativity.
When your goal is constant godliness, the enemy’s goal is constant temptation.
It has been a battle. Each day I am striving to do better, and the enemy is throwing obstacles and distractions in my way. Each day I am feeling attacks on my spirit. I was feeling drained and getting sick of the fight. The other morning, I walked out of our squad worship session, and shut myself in my room. I began to pray these struggles away in the name of Jesus. I quickly found myself crying and literally shouting to God in anger that I needed His help to fight this fight. He reminded me of the armor of God in Ephesians 6. He reminded me that He is always with me in the fight, a fight He already won for us a long time ago. This helped my mood, but it was still a grind.
Satan has even been attacking me as I sleep and dream. Last night, I was stuck in a dream where I felt this evil presence around me. It was the second or third night having that same feeling, a dream where I am faced with my oldest, longest battle against lust. In my dream I was about to give into that temptation of sin. I woke up in a panic at 2 am in my tent as some dogs were barking loudly and aggressively in the field next door. God seriously used dogs to wake me up and stop the enemy in his tracks.
“No temptation has overtaken you except that which is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” -1 Corinthians 10:13
This morning we listened to a teaching on spiritual warfare. I was laughing at how true it was. The enemy won’t stop trying to steal, kill, and destroy, to trick us into sin, and to ensnare us with his lies. But we have Jesus on our side and within us.
Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me
Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me
“Then Jesus came to them and said “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” –Matthew 28:18
Jesus resides in us as Holy Spirit, giving us all the authority in this fight of spiritual warfare. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.” –Romans 8:37 God tells us that we are more than conquerors. We have already won the spiritual war through Jesus.
I love winning. I think it’s pretty enjoyable to be in a fight you already know you will win. That doesn’t mean it’s always easy, it doesn’t mean we don’t need to rely on the Lord in each moment of the battle, but it does mean that we already stand in authority on the winning side. The enemy is powerless against Christ in us.
It’s pretty fun to play a game you keep on winning.
Spiritual warfare isn’t a game.
It’s a battlefield.
Through Christ, We are the victors.
