All my life I had to fight (in my Color Purple Sophia voice). I am a woman. I am African American. I am a mother. I am much, much more, but those three has had me raging war more times than I can count. I am speaking in terms of physical battles in this world. How many times have I said, what do you mean a woman’s place? or Yes, I am black, beautiful, and proud of it! And if you really want to make me salty, mess with my child! Even today I will fight these battles should the need arise. (so, what if my child is a grandpop, I am still his mother!) Do not judge me. 🙂 Unfortunately, we are born into this world with battles we sometimes cannot see. And often it is the enemy behind what we do see. The hardest battles are those we cannot see, the spiritual warfare and the battles within our mind. Sure, we understand the circumstances and situations that the enemy uses to destroy us. We can accept the truth of how the enemy uses the world to lure us in and to tempt us. We can understand to some degree that the battle in the spiritual realm is ongoing and real, even though we cannot see it. But, to get a grasp on what is going on within our own hearts and minds can be the hardest, most exhausting, battle of them all. Some prefer not to deal with spiritual warfare; it is too scary and frightening, so they prefer to ignore it. As a result, the enemy is winning; just look around. Pandemics, murders by those who were sworn to protect, racism, hate, division, all fueled by fear and panic. And there is still sex trafficking, missing kids, domestic abuse, homelessness, hunger, and so much more! It makes me want to cry. But crying is not going to change the fact that this is much more than it appears to our natural eyes. We are in a spiritual war. We know God is in control, but we are his soldiers. We must put on the whole armor of God and we must be “vigilant and sober” as scripture says. We must look beyond the surface and ask God to open our spiritual eyes. One thing the enemy does is distract you while he is doing his dirty work. We have to stay focus! The enemy will come where there is an opening, he will fit in where he can get in. If God, the Father, allowed His Son, Jesus Christ to be tempted by Satan then chances are you will have to deal personally with the enemy at some point in your lifetime. When the enemy attacks you, he will try to hinder you from being able to progress from point A to point B in your walk with God. He will use your family, friends, or anyone else he feels can get to you. He also will start playing mind-games with you to try and throw you into mental torment and separate you from your spiritual connection with the Lord. The enemy will try to tell you that you have committed the unforgivable sin, God does not love you, that you are not smart enough, pretty enough, that you are just not good enough. And he will keep at you until you start to believe him. Then he will persuade you not to study and read your Bible because he knows you will see how much God does love you and that you are more than enough. He knows that is where your strength to fight comes from. Scripture tells us he would come to seek, kill, and destroy! The battle, the struggle, the war, the fight goes on in our thinking, emotions, and our feelings.There is a struggle, a wrestling match being fought inside of us. It is between satan’s deceptions and God’s truth. The good news is that it is a battle of victory for those of us who study, apply, and strive to obey the Word of God. I am telling you, satan is an expert at deceiving people. Beware when feelings and thoughts are not in harmony with the scriptures. It is God’s Word that will tell you if your thoughts and feelings are from Him or satan. You may ask yourselves, why do I even want to fight? We must fight to receive the victory God has already given us. You think the devil is going to give up without a fight? God gave the land to the Israelites, but they had to fight for it. And as long as they obeyed God, they were conquerors. The most important gift Jesus has given us is salvation. Once we have it, it cannot be taken away by satan or man. However, if we want the life God intended for us here on earth, to live life abundantly, we must fight the enemy for it and live victorious in Christ. Every day victory is achieved by knowing, believing, and understanding the battles that we are enduring daily. We can be passive or active in the battles. I choose to take my sword up and put on my armor of God. I want everything God has for me! I choose to fight! Our defense is to know, understand, and obey God’s Word. Examine everything by God’s Word! We have the power of God operating on the inside of us through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. The enemy is no match for those who know who they really are in their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are God’s soldiers. Do not be afraid because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world! (John 4:4) I am not scared to fight; I have read the ending of ‘The Book” and I know who the victory belongs to! Love and Blessings…
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of the world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (1Peter 5:8-9)
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (Ephesians 6:10-11)
“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.”(2 Thessalonians 10:4-5)
“But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” (2 Thessalonians 3: 3)
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)
“For the LORD, your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” (Deuteronomy 20:4)
“I [Jesus] have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33)
EMMANUEL 