The Battle: Being a Soldier of Christ
“Therefore 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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”
– Ephesians 6:13-18
Spiritual Warfare
When we as Christians made the decision to follow Christ, we entered into a spiritual battle, better known as spiritual warfare. This spiritual warfare takes place every day. Satan is mischievous, deceptive, and wants nothing more than for us to give in to his temptation and darkness. In order to fight against this spiritual warfare, we must as the scripture says, put on the full armor of God. It is also important to remember, that God has already won the battle!
My Journey
Every time I set out to do something good, and especially something that furthers God’s Kingdom, I experience strong spiritual warfare in my life. Before I accepted a position on the world race mission trip, I knew that I would be coming up against some very evil forces. I know how much of a positive impact this trip is going to have for everyone involved, so I know that Satan will try everything he can to bring me down.
Almost immediately after accepting the offer to participate in this mission, I felt a strong spiritual battle brewing. I was constantly having doubts and fears:
– Can I even raise that much money?
– Does God really want me to do this?
– Will my health be good enough?
– Am I a good Christian example?
– What if something happens to my family?
– How will I keep snakes out of my tent?
– Am I emotionally strong enough?
Satan was in overdrive messing with my mind, and I was letting him get away with it. Satan has been able to get a stronghold over my emotions. I have never felt so much anger, irritation, and had such bad communication skills with my family. It’s not just me under attack, Satan is going after my family and support network! I’m wise to this though. I know that he wants me to feel discouraged, broken, disconnected, and hard-hearted towards people. He doesn’t want me to feel like I have a good support network, or that my family loves me. He has been ‘winning’ in this battle for the last few months, but I’m declaring that he has no place in my mind, family, or support network.
Satan doesn’t like it when we resist. During this time of trial and temptation I have kept my faith and eyes on God, knowing He is in this battle with me and will see me through it. Nothing angers the devil more than when he attacks you and you still are faithful to God and not willing to give up through the storm. In my faithfulness I have watched God be my vindicator and soften hearts of people who did not approve. I have watched Him bring funds in for me that I never could have done on my own. The last three weeks I have seen God work on my behalf for this mission trip in huge ways, and I have no doubt that God is on this journey with me.
I am not the only member of my team that has been experiencing these things. The majority of the group has struggled with doubt, discouragement, and come up against people who aren’t always supportive. Satan is working on all of us, to discourage us from this trip…..but our God is stronger and to Satan’s dislike, it has only brought our group closer.
At this time I would like to ask you to pray over me, my family, and my team mates. I believe prayer is powerful, and we can use all the prayers we can get as we prepare to take on a huge mission across the world! We are more than conquerors in Christ and after all, if God is for us, who can be against us?
