Who am I Fighting?

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 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. (Ephesians 6:12-17 NIV)

It is so easy to lose track of who our struggle is against. Sometimes I think it's even harder because of the church. You see the church is full of people, and people fight. It is easy to get caught up in things that don't really matter, and allow them to ruin your day, month, or even year. When these kinds of things happen, we're missing the point. There is a much bigger battle going on all around us all the time and we need to stay focused. This is difficult, because we like to have our own way, and we are all too quick to make things about ourselves. And so it is easy to forget that our battle is not against people, but against the spiritual forces of evil, who would see us all miss out on heaven. We are busy but we can not engage the true enemy.

So we are told to put on the belt of truth. Truth comes from the word of God, and it should define our lives. If our lives are guided by the truth, it is much more difficult to steer us off the path. Much like my belt keeps my pants from falling off, truth holds me steady when times are uncertain. A breast plate is meant to deflect blows, and righteousness speaks for itself. If I am living righteously, the enemy can take his best shot. The gospel was never meant to be an end, but the beginning of a great mission. The Gospel has prepared me to introduce people to Jesus. I have to be ready, because this is a big deal and it is urgent.

The shield of faith is to deflect arrows from the evil one, and the truth is we face a constant barrage. People have been trying to disprove the gospel since the day Jesus rose from the dead. The truth of the matter is there are some things I just can't explain. With that being said, there are many things that I can explain. I choose to take what I know about God and see the world through that lens. Because faith is the evidence of things unseen. If I could explain everything about God, He wouldn't be that impressive. There are some things I just won't know until the end. But there are many things that I do know about God, and I know enough to trust Him.

A helmet is to protect your head, and it often saves your life. The salvation that I found in Jesus has saved my soul for eternity. Salvation is found nowhere else, for there is one name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. The Word of God, or the Bible, is often referred to as a sword. This is because God's word is powerful. It was through His word that the universe was made, and He has the final say in everything. When Jesus was being tempted in the desert by Satan, He used the word of God to gain the victory. The same is true our lives, the Bible is a powerful weapon that cannot be defeated. It is has stood the test of time, and will continue to do so because it is the very word of God.

The word of the day is focus. We do have a battle fight, just not with one another.

Enjoy the Journey