It’s War!




“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind” (II Timothy 1:7). NKJ
Part One of Three I’ve lived my life in a war zone. All of us have, but most of us do not realize it. This war is fought in the heavenly realm that directly affects our affairs on earth.
Through a difficult season of my life, I became aware of this other world superimposed on the one we see, feel and touch. I became afraid of that world. Without God’s power through the Blood of Jesus Christ and His Name, we are helpless. But because He has given us Himself, we have all authority. We need to learn what that means and how to make it work when that other world invades the one we can see, feel and touch.
Since we are drafted into spiritual war, we all come to the place where we decide if we are going to be shot and lay on the battlefield, or are we going to pick up our armor and stand and fight?
I learned that God really does care about our everyday affairs. He is keenly interested in us. So is the devil.
The Bible, God’s Word, tells us that Jesus came to defeat all the enemies of our souls. We are given armor in God’s Word, in Ephesians 6:10-18. We are told to put it on. As we put it on we have the power of God to stand. Why do we need it? Our enemies are spiritual beings bent on our destruction. Why is that? Because of the love that God bears us. We are pawns in a spiritual vendetta.
Our armor is a picture of the Roman military “uniform.” The Helmet of Salvation protects our minds, the Belt of Truth gives us confidence, the Breastplate of Righteousness protects our hearts and vital organs, the Shoes of Good News give us a sure path to follow, the Shield of Faith allows us to advance as it takes the arrows aimed at us and the Sword of the Spirit, which is God’s Word, gives us victory as we learn to wield it.
We are then told to stand and withstand the wiles of the devil. I don’t think “wiles” begins to describe how this war seizes our souls. Sometimes it feels like we have been caught in a whirlpool, spinning around and around. Satan’s jaws seem to be yawning down the vortex of that pool. We somehow drift to the side of the pool looking for relief, but are grabbed again by the merciless waves of turmoil. But we don’t have to stay in that whirlpool because God made a way by sending us His son, Jesus, to lift us out. Then He’s given us armor so we can stand and fight.
I have noticed that the battles I found myself facing were not random, but systematic attacks on my soul. I didn’t have a choice whether or not I wanted to be in this war and no amount of running away would get me out of it. Also, I discovered I was not the only one in this war. As long as we are here on earth we will encounter battles to fight in our everyday lives. We need each other in community as we hold each other up.
Psalm 18 is a psalm of war. It talks about God being our strength, our fortress, our rock, deliverer, shield, horn of salvation and stronghold. He is worthy of our praise and our love. When we call on Him, He saves us from our enemies. It goes on to say how angry He is on our behalf and thunders until the very foundations of the world are uncovered. He will spare nothing to come to our aid.
He teaches us how to make war. As we acknowledge Him as God and the one who arms us with strength, He sets our feet in a place of victory. The necks of those spiritual enemies are exposed to us and we overcome our spiritual enemies!
LJR Photo: Linda Jo Reed is the author of “Upheld In The Battle”. Visit her at Barnes and Noble in the Spokane Valley at a book signing on March 1. She can be contacted at http://lindajoreed.com. Like her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LindaJoReed