Have you ever been in a war? Or that’s too harsh and not suitable in these modern times. Let me ask this instead: Have you ever been in a race, or an argument, perhaps a tug of war?
Surely you have been in one of those. Look at it like a football match—two teams, one pitch. And yes, the game lasts as long as your lifetime. There are players on both sides, and they both want to walk out of that game as winners. The battle is for your soul. That’s the trophy.
No matter how good the team is, it will still at least face some resistance. Matter of fact, you are the referee of the game. But here the rules are a bit different. Whichever side the referee is on is the one that wins.
The body, the soul (mind), and the spirit are in a boxing ring 24/7. Obviously the mind is the umpire. The devil is pushing on one side, while God is on the other.
The game is on from the day you start thinking till the day you stop breathing!
The devil strikes while God is defending. Then you, as the referee, decide if the devil’s goal can go. If it is a yes, the devil scores, and if it is a no, there is no conceding. The game goes on. Even God strikes, and if it is a yes, He scores a goal, and if it is a no, the devil prevails.
One team is always stronger, but still, a game is not won that easily. There will be times when the ball will be on the devil’s foot, and he can only go as far as you will allow him!
As it is in Isaiah 54:17 NKJV
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment…
The weapons shall be formed indeed. But they shall not prosper. God didn’t call you to walk on ice or take a nap but to fight the good fight, the spiritual war. That’s why Jesus says in Matthew 16:24-26 NKJV
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
You as a Christian are in the Lord’s army and He called you unto Himself to join in the war. As it is in Matthew 11:12 NKJV
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.
Now war itself is dangerous and every side attacks the opposing party with ruthlessness because it’s a life or death situation. And so it is in your Christian walk.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12 KJV
You do not expect everything to go smoothly in a war. There might be downfalls, disappointments, and sometimes some people will die, but does that mean the war is over?
No, only when it is finished can we decide who won.
Shall you fight with all you’ve got till death? Or are you having second thoughts about giving up already?
Consider how far you’ve come. Will it really be sensible to stop right now?
So you intend to put all your previous efforts and works to waste?
Indeed, God allows us to go through times of desperation and need to allow us to be tested, proven, and matured. In the end, coming out stronger than we were before the devil even attacked us. Isaiah 59:19
So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.
Those times where Satan seems to triumph are not there to break you but to refine you and make you a better person. Where will your testimony be if you had no story to tell?
And so are those times. But fear not, for you are on the stronger team. You surely shall prevail because Jesus did it for you already.
Isn’t that amazing?
Can you say you overcame if there was nothing to overcome in the first place?
Can you say, “I survived,” if there was no danger to overcome first?
And so it is, brethren, that this war we fight is a violent and brutal one. For your enemy the devil is in constant war with those who dare to uphold the will of the Father in their lives. Him (the devil), the first born of disobedience, already has his fate sealed—hell. And he is fighting to see to it that he doesn’t go alone. He literally has got nothing to lose, so he will attack you with all the weapons at his disposal, without remorse or second thoughts.
Now if you’ve got such a determined, very wicked enemy, I wonder if your attention should be on complaining or fighting for your life?
You have overcome through Christ, so stand strong, no matter how deep the waters seem. Only then shall you triumph forever.
