This morning, while sipping my coffee and enjoying a slow start to the day, I was only sort of paying attention to the cartoon my kids had on. The shows they watch in the morning are parent-approved and basically pretty good. They usually choose the superhero shows and watch the battle between good and evil. Today, I was struck with how they showed the superhero combating the evil ways of the villain.
The villain in the show had apparently been good “in another world”. Everyone seemed to remember that except for the villain. As the battle waged between the villain and the superhero, the hero began to talk down the villain, saying things like, “I know you were good once. I believe in you. I know you will not harm me.” He was talking down his opposition. And ultimately, he won because the villain listened just long enough to realize the superhero truly believed that his words had power behind them - power to turn a bad situation around, and to see the good that could come out of it.
The tactics that the superhero used, speaking truth into the situation with the villain,
hold true for us, too, as Christians.
In II Corinthians 10:3-5, Paul says -
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 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.
When we battle tough situations, or attacks of the Enemy, our combat is not supposed to look the same as those who do not know Jesus. That means when we face situations where the Enemy is trying to destroy us, we need to respond differently. Maybe we need to step out in faith, or at least not cower in fear. Maybe we need to speak truth into the situations where we are struggling - God’s Truth.
We need to realize that as a follower of Christ, we are now a target for attacks by the Enemy. Satan does not want to see us on God’s side. He does not want our lives filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. He does not want our hearts and minds transformed by God’s Word. And so He is coming for us - He is out to attack us where he can.
How do you combat the attacks? The Bible gives us a very clear plan of how to stand against the devil.
Ephesians 6:10-17, again, from Paul -
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. 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. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
I like how this passage says, “so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground….” To me, (and this is just my opinion) this indicates that we won’t get attacked immediately, or constantly. We may not be in a battle right now, but…it’s coming. That’s what I take out of that particular section.
BUT - our armor needs to be on already. Do you see that? “Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes….” We aren’t supposed to wait for battle and then get ready; we’re supposed to be prepared in advance.
The passage goes on to describe the armor in detail, giving us an understanding of why each piece is important. I’ve heard many different pastors and speakers point out that the only part of this weapon that is for going on the offensive is the sword of the Spirit - the word of God - the Bible. We are to be prepared and covered in the full armor of God, but apparently we are not just supposed to stand there and take the attacks. We have the word of God to speak truth into the situation, to wage war with the enemy.
To wage war, you have to know your weapon, inside and out. Consider a soldier who uses a gun in battle - that soldier knows how to dismantle the weapon, how to clean it, what type of bullets it uses - he knows everything about his weapon. Why? Because he has spent time with it. He has had it in pieces, and then put it together as a whole. He has inspected every available spot to make sure nothing will hinder his use of the weapon. He has trained with it, specifically for combat situations so that he knows exactly what will happen and does not need to have a fear of using his weapon in the midst of battle. He is prepared. He knows his weapon as though it were an extension of his person.
So, here’s the important question: Are you ready? Are you ready for when the attack comes? Have you put on the full armor of God? Have you prepared with your weapon as the soldier has? Paul is very clear - our struggle is not against flesh and blood - it is not of this world. It is a spiritual struggle and we have all of the protection that we need, along with the only weapon we need.
Dear friend, are you ready? Maybe you need to step back and re-evaluate your battles, knowing that while they seem bound in things of earth, they are really a spiritual fight for your soul. Maybe you need to prepare in advance and choose today to clothe yourself with the armor of God so that when your battle comes, you are prepared. And maybe you need to check your weapon. Clean it off, open it up, learn what’s inside of it, so that when the attack comes against you, you are already prepared.
Just like the superhero in the cartoon my kids watched,
let’s be prepared to speak truth into our battles -
God’s Truth!
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