STAND STRONG FOR BATTLE ( PART ONE)
[6-minute read]
UNLESS WE ARE LIVING IN CHRONIC DENIAL, we’ll have to admit that we are constantly facing battles in life. Whether we are battling financial struggles, chronic sickness, challenging relationships, painful disappointments, or discouraging outcomes, unwelcome surprises have a way of throwing our lives off-kilter and our emotions into chaos.
No one should face life with the pseudo-Christian thinking that good things come to good people, to those who embrace the virtue of patience, and to those who won’t stop believing that good will happen. Such wishful thinking is not only unscriptural (because we are called to believe in God, not in the probability of good outcomes!), it is immature and dangerous.
In the Book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul taught at length on the importance of spiritual maturity and the unity of the church. His teachings do not sound like the typical Christian sales pitch – that Christians will have nothing but blessed, blissful and abundant lives. For perspective, nearly half of what Jesus taught hinged on the reality that “in this world, you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33). Close to the end of His ministry, Jesus also warned, “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24: 12-13).
Standing strong in the face of battle is not easy; and it is impossible without constantly paying attention to the following advice from the Word of God:
Build Your Strength In The Lord
Paul summarized his teachings in Ephesians with this piece of advice, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty Power” (Ephesians 6:10). He was speaking of a strength that we do not naturally have. It is not human strength, mental resolve or emotional fortitude but the spiritual strength that comes only from cultivating three very crucial habits:
The first is the habit of reading and internalizing the Word of God. Rote learning or memorization alone does not make God’s Word come alive in our spirit and life! Instead, we need to personalize the Word of God in our belief and life narrative. Compare the difference: to say “God is the Rock of our Salvation” and “God is the Rock of my salvation and the Rock upon which I land on when I find myself falling hard.”
The second habit to keep up is to pray and praise. This is not the same as praying as though we are testing if God can deliver the results we want and giving Him thanks as a reward. Instead, we pray according to the Word of God and we praise God for His character and who He is to us. It is to move our relationship with God away from relying on the outcomes and circumstances of our lives.
The third habit is building our fellowship with like-minded believers. This does not mean that we should stick with amiable people who do not feel responsible for keeping us honest about our spiritual habits. Rather, we should pursue and deepen relationships with people who set a good example for our own spiritual growth and who spur us on with strong Christian values, even if it makes us uncomfortable.
Adopting new behaviors and preferences is never easy but if we only do what is easy, we will deprive ourselves of rewards and realities that God wants to bring into our lives.
Know Your Enemy In The Battle
When we are feeling overwhelmed by life, it is usually the people closest to us - our spouse, children, people we work with, siblings, and closest friends - who bear the brunt of our unhappiness. This is why the Word in Ephesians 6:12 tells us plainly that “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.” As such, we are warned in 1 Peter 5:8 : “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Ironically, we leave the front door of our lives open for the enemy to enter and we close the backdoor so that he cannot leave. How does this happen? When we are over-confident with our own discernment of what is good and harmful for our relationship with God; when we adopt a pseudo-Christianity that gives priority to our own opinion rather than our obedience to God; and when we allow bitterness, jealousy, and resentment to fester inside and we indulge in activities to escape them, we are giving the enemy accessibility and a foothold in our lives.
It is also important to know that the Holy Spirit who is in us is greater than the enemy of our soul (1 John 4:4). Therefore, we are specifically told in James 4:7 to first submit ourselves to God so that we may find the counterforce against the devil who will flee from us.
Put On The Full Armour Of God
The battles we face are not neatly packaged deals that come with predictability. Yet, as believers, we are called to face our battles with the Word of God as our weapons. However, the Word that we have is highly prescriptive: we cannot pick and choose the parts that we like and expect victory on our side. We need to follow the instructions. Twice, in Ephesians 6, we read the instruction “Put on the full armour of God” (v11 and 13) for two similar reasons - “so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” and “so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” (v11 and 13). Just as no one goes to a battle with insufficient armour, we cannot skip what the Word tells us and expect safety.
We live in a world that is largely principled on self-interest, self-promotion and interpersonal competition rather than being other-centred and serving others. We can be stepped on, brushed aside, back stabbed but it does not mean we are not in the place where God wants us to be. Yet, we do not fight in the same way through divisive or manipulative moves. Strengthening our relationship with God and in the knowledge of the Word, keeping in fellowship with like-minded Christians, as well as knowing our enemy put us in good stead to face our battles fearlessly.
We will always have the Word of God on our side “ no weapon turned against you will succeed.
You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from Me. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Isaiah 54:17 NLT).
All we need to do is to stand strong and be ready for battle.
This is a summary and reflection based on a virtual BIR Session held on 25 March 2023.
