Made For Battle
As Christians, we are made for battle. God's word tells us clearly that we will have trials and tribulations, or in today's vernacular, challenges and struggles.
"Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything to stand firm." Ephesians 6:13
The enemy can NOT win unless we give up, however, sometimes we don't throw in the towel but we do back away from the battle, we retreat to what we think is a safe place and we find that the struggles seem to ease up, the challenges appear to be a bit easier. We convince ourselves that we can take a break without losing any ground. What we don't realize is this is a tactic of the enemy, if he can't get us to surrender, he'll trick us into a powerless position. Much of our skirmish take place in prayer and study. We need to be on the offense and prayer puts us there. Our goal needs to be to continually march forward into the the battles laid before us. When we do, we grow and learn personally but we also make a way for those around us to step into their battles.
There may be times when we are overwhelmed and flat out exhausted, when we do not even know how what or how to pray for ourselves. This is why God calls us to live in community with other believers and why He calls us to me merciful, compassionate and full of grace for one another. When we find ourselves tempted to run for the hills, we need to instead sound the alarm. If we will share with our trusted brothers and sisters in Christ, they can come along side of us or maybe even surround us and battle on our behalf until we are strong enough to join back in. This way, no ground is lost, the enemy gains nothing on us.
Yes the victory is God's and in the heavenlies, it is already secured but we must still do our part, for ourselves, for our children, for the less fortunate, for the lost and wayward. Our role is vital and God has given us every tool we need to be successful and advance the battle lines for His glory. Be alert, be aware, be willing to sound an alarm when needed and be ready to respond to the battle cry of those around you.
