The Battle is the Lords

"All those gathered here

will know that it is not by sword or spear

that the LORD saves;

for the battle is the LORD’s,

and he will give all of you into our hands.”

Words of David to Goliath just before he slayed the giant with a stone and a sling

1 Samuel 17:47

I'm a warrior at heart.  If someone hurts those I Iove, abuses someone weaker, or takes advantage of another, I'm ready to fight!  Even as a girl of about 12, I did not hesitate to chew out a neighbor man who came to our house to retrieve his dog who had wandered over for a visit.  When he started kicking the sweet-natured dog in the stomach, I let the man have it, getting in his face and telling him to get off our property.  It was war and I was ready for battle!

The problem with the above scenario, is that my emotional outburst accomplished nothing more than to drive the man away with a piece of my mind.  It did not save the dog.  It did not change the man's abusive behavior.  It did not bring glory to God.

David, on the other hand, even though he was probably in his mid-teens as he faced Goliath, did not rely on an emotional outburst, giving this gargantuan bully a piece of his mind.  Instead he relied upon the Lord, knowing that if God would give him the courage to face lions with a sling and a stone, He would do the same while confronting a giant, seasoned warrior.  The result?  David killed the giant, the Israelites defeated the Philistines, and God received the glory!

What battles do I face in the 21st century?  What monsters taunt me and dishonor my God?  Where is my battlefield?

The Mind

There is a constant battle taking place in my mind.  My thought life is like a thermometer of my spiritual health because what I spend the most time thinking about reveals what my god is at that moment.  If I am fretting about the bills, my god is money.  If I am rehashing an old argument, justifying my actions to make myself feel better about my ridiculous behavior, my god is pride.  If I am planning my day, analyzing every detail until I come up with the perfect solution for every possible problem, my god is myself. 

My thoughts are the root of all sin because every temptation is introduced in my mind.  James described the process of temptation in this way.  He said, ". . .each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."  (James 1:14-15)

It has been said that when a tempting thought enters my mind it is just a thought.  But when I revisit that thought and mull it over, it becomes a temptation.  The more I think about it, the more I can justify acting on that idea.  Before you know it, I'm giving in to the suggestion of the enticing sin, seeking to satisfy some fleshy desire. 

This is why it is important to be intentional in my thinking.  the Apostle Paul advised to, ". . . demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and . . . take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:5) 

If I let every thought that crosses my mind dwell there, I will fall into temptation and be distracted from the Lord's work.  If, however, I turn this battlefield over to the Lord, drawing on his strength to allow only those thoughts which please God to dwell in my mind, I will be victorious in the battle for my thoughts, and God will be glorified.

Spiritual Realm

The real battle for a believer takes place all around us in a place we cannot see, touch or smell.  It is the battlefield of the spiritual realm.  "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.  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." (Ephesians 10:11-12)

Satan and his minions are busy trying to turn us away from God.  They will try every trick of the trade to distract us from the mission at hand.  CS Lewis described this well in his The Screwtape Letters.  In one exchange that took place between the veteran demon Screwtape and the newbie, Wormwood, a common tactic was revealed. "The safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts."

Satan wants nothing more than for me to slowly and gradually give up crucial biblical standards, yielding important battle positions until I am retreating, giving Satan a foothold in my life.  
Instead, I must always keep the milestones and signposts in front of me by staying in prayer with my God, reading His Word and doing what it says, and remembering that "the one who is in (me) is greater than the one who is in the world." (1 John 4:4b)

The World

It is a great temptation for me to try to save the world.  That, however, is not my mission, nor the mission of any believer.  That is God's job.  My task is to obey Him, following His lead in all things. 

That sounds great in theory, but difficult in the face of a fallen world.  I see broken marriages, abused and neglected children, runaway teenagers, murdered gang members and hurting people all around me.  On the news I see war-torn nations, starving children, cruel and oppressive dictators and terrorism.  The world is an evil place and I want to make it better. 

If only I could talk some sense into the heartbroken wife ready to throw in the towel, or the high school student who hates her parents, or the 15-year-old boy on a fast train to jail.  But I can't.  I can try, but they won't get it until they see their need for Jesus and surrender their lives to him. And no one can come to Jesus until the Father draws him. (John 6:44) 

For this reason, it is vital that I stay on my knees in prayer.  And while I pray, I must be available to let God love a hurting, lost world through me.  This means setting aside my anger and pride, and asking God to give me a heart that sees people as He sees them.  Asking Him to break my heart for what breaks His.  Pleading with Him to save the people from certain death. 

The world may be Satan's dominion, but in this battlefield I can give glory to God by letting Him fight the battles found here.  

The battlefields of the mind, the spiritual realm and the world all belong to the Lord.  This is His battle, and if I can have faith like David, I can be victorious in glorifying God in the midst of combat.

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that I can keep my mind focused on God, allowing Him to fight my battles for me.

Where do I take things into my own hands, thus diminishing God's territory in my life?

How do I give Satan a foothold by being lax in the defenses of my thought life?