Well, I am over half way done with my race. Tomorrow we are heading to month 7, off to Montenegro and Bosnia for a month of Unsung Heroes (blog to come). I can't believe how much time has passed yet how quickly it has seemed. It seems like yesterday I was saying goodbye to my family and heading off to launch but in reality, it is February 26 and I am over half way done with my race. As I think back on the last six cultures I have seen, the last six countries, the last six ministries, there is one thing that has sticks out to me month after month. It is the spiritual strongholds that reign over each country, each place we have been to.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 describes the battles we fight everyday and what we have to do as Christians. It says:
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Spiritual Strongholds are arguments or thoughts that set themselves against the knowledge of God. Any beliefs entrenched in our thinking that contrast the truth revealed in Scriptures are strongholds of the Enemy that stand in the way of our knowing God and making Him Known. They are the lies that are told to us everyday, that are engrained in our culture that we believe even though we don't realize they are a stronghold. Throughout my travels I have seen how the devil has intricately place strongholds in these different cultures to distract people from the truth of Christ and who he is. In Thailand and Cambodia, one of the essential part of their culture was "To be Thai is to be Buddhist" or "To be Cambodian is to be Buddhist" while in Kosovo, the only religion people are is Muslim. Muslim rituals dictate that the men is the head of the household and that women are just their instruments to use and I have witnessed this is many different aspects in my experience in Kosovo.
Along with spiritual strongholds in their culture, there are spirits of the land. In each country, people struggle with different traits whether it is pride, apathy, loneliness, hopelessness or miscommunication etc. These our traits that people in that country struggle with. As we have explored and experienced each country, we have struggled with the same spirits as these people. These traits are struggles that draw people away from God, draw people away from desiring a relationship with Christ. Our team has experienced these different strongholds such as miscommunication in Cambodia, loneliness and hopelessness in Thailand, negativity in Malaysia etc. These things are apart of the spiritual attacks that we face everyday. As we try to pursue The Lord and what he has planned for us, we experience blockades yet through prayer, recognition and speaking out against it.
Spiritual warfare is real and it is all around us on the race. But the thing is, spiritual warfare is everywhere. Just because you are in America does not mean that you are not fighting a spiritual battle either. Many American are afraid to acknowledgment that the Spirit is alive and active in all aspect That is spiritual warfare. As we ignore the spirit, we put God in a box and let the devil dictate how we see God. I am not saying that the way you pursue God is wrong or bashing on your faith. Instead I want you to invite you into their new world that I am seeing, where there is a spiritual war going on because the best part of this war is We have already WON! We know that our all powerful and loving father has already won the victory.
1 Corinthians 15:56-57 says: The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
I know this blog may seem intense and though the spiritual realm but it is important to understand the world we live in and the elements that we are facing. Just know that through the hardship and battle we are already victorious, so take heart. We have chosen the winning side no matter what happens. Now is the time to join the sides of our many brothers and sisters around the world and unite as a fighting force for Jesus and his Kingdom.
