This one will be short. But its super important.
I know a few of you at this point will have ready other team members blogs and are a little clued into the spiritual warfare our team and squad has been experiencing.
On our third night in Bangalore a conversation started with Amanda, one of our alumni squad leaders, about spiritual warfare. Let me tell you right now, it is real. And even though it is called spiritual warfare it has physical effects. Caitlin was asking questions about what spiritual warfare even is and how people experience it. I had the same questions six months ago. I had never come to terms with the reality of demons and spirits in modern times. But they are real.
We have experience spiritual warfare in a few ways. Across the squad it has been physical sickness. And as I have seen, physical sickness can have a profound effect on your spiritual readiness if not simply your mental state and attitude. We also experience a lot of fatigue as a team. We we still slightly adjusting to India time, but we had plenty of rest and down time during our days. But we all still felt tired and in need of naps. This kept us from really diving into one-on-one time with one another. We had been experiencing a lot uneasiness in our spirits until we addressed what we were feeling. Caitlin had another experience which you will have to go to her blog to read more about because that is her story not mine. (I think Sara also posted a video about it.)
All this to say that spiritual warfare is real. It is real here in India as well as in the states. The enemy is simply more conniving about hiding it in the US. I think there are a few resources that are very helpful on this topic. The Bible. Screw tape Letters. Piercing the Darkness. These books have completely turned my idea of spiritual warfare on its head.
The most important thing I am learning is not to focus on what the enemy is trying to do, but to focus on the character of God. Spending time with him is the best way to fight any battle.
