No, you say? Don't think you have what it takes? Or maybe you think there's no need. Maybe you're a lover, not a fighter. You don't see yourself ever getting in a scuffle, let alone going to battle.
Well, let me tell you something.
You're in a fight. Right now. A battle is raging around you, and within you. There are no objective observers in this fight, no conscientious objectors. Every single one of us is engaged with the enemy in a full scale war. He's in the trenches with us, and it's mano-a-mano.
It's time to fight, whether you like it, or not.
Strap on your gear and move out!
Ephesians 6:10-18 talks about the armor of God we need to fight this war. Read that passage, and tell me God isn't telling us to get prepared for battle! Not just in the distant future, but now. Today. And tomorrow. And the next day. Until we die or Jesus returns, we are in this for the duration.
We've been mobilized. Our marching orders are to go and make disciples, to confront the enemy wherever he is found and defeat him. We are to fight with courage and confidence. With all our heart, all our soul, all our strength, and all our mind.
Its a spiritual war we're fighting. Every. Single. Day.
Our enemy is well trained.
That girl above? She's getting ready to fight a battle. Not against flesh and blood, but against the powers and dark forces of this world. At the moment this picture was taken, the enemy was telling her she wasn't ready. The enemy whispered that she couldn't do it, that she would fail.
See those targets behind her? There were 200 of them lined up in a row. 399 other archers shooting all at once. And this was just one line. There were others. 13,000 competitors over the course of 3 days.
The enemy told our young warrior she stood no chance against odds like that. He told her even God couldn't help her in this fight. He did his best to break her faith because he knows once he gets behind our lines, he can sabotage the whole operation. The enemy doesn't always attack head on; he knows a good flanking maneuver when he sees it.
That's spiritual warfare.
What would you do?
What if the odds were stacked against you? If the enemy said you couldn't stand up to your boss if he asked you to do something unethical because you'd lose your job, what would you do? What if the enemy tells you millions of people think God's laws are outdated? What if he whispered in your ear, "Everybody looks; you just can't touch," or "no one else has a problem with this; what's wrong with you?"
What would you do?
You've got to have armor.
I prayed over and with my daughter for weeks before this monumental battle. Not just for her, but me. The enemy was working on both of us. He wanted me to prepare her for failure, to tell her the same things he wanted her to believe. He wanted us to skip church to practice, skip family to practice, to leave God behind and do it ourselves. He knew we'd fail for sure then.
We didn't listen. You see, we understand it's not us who fights, but God within us. We had two verses for this day: Psalm 46:10 and Philippians 4:13. Be still and know that I am God. That's about not letting the enemy scare you. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. That's about being able to accomplish through God what we could never do ourselves.
We had our armor. We were ready.
We were mighty warriors.
Not because of ourselves, but because of God. That warrior princess with her blonde pony tail and pink camo bow, with her entire 11 years of life experience in rural backwater Illinois to draw from, faced an enemy who'd been training throughout heaven and earth since the dawn of creation.
And she won.
No, she didn't win the NASP National tournament (she placed in the top 10%--this proud dad just has to put that out there!). She won because she did her best. She won because she didn't let the enemy defeat her. She was scared, but there is no courage without fear. She didn't do as well as she wanted, but she did the best she could. All the way through, even when she knew she wouldn't "win."
She won because she leaned on God, and God was there for her.
That's fighting. That's a warrior.
Are you a warrior?
I'm so proud of my kids. I've written several times about this daughter's experiences in archery because I've seen so many parallels to life in her experiences in that sport. I am just as proud of my son who is sacrificing part of two summer vacations to go on a missions trip to Costa Rica. I'm equally proud of my youngest who, in her 8 year old way, tells her friends about Jesus and how they need to go to church (not always in the gentlest of terms!).
They are warriors. And if a 15 year old young man just learning about life can be a warrior, so can you. If an 11 year old girl with a pony tail and pink bow and arrow can face down the enemy, what are you afraid of? If an 8 year old wild child can know which side of the battlefield to be on, what's your excuse?
You're in this fight, whether you want it or not. The only question is whether you're going to be a warrior, or cannon fodder.
I know which one I choose.
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