I’ve never been much of a fighter. I’ve always had a sassy mouth but never been the type of girl who could back it up. Well, my children may disagree with that statement but as far as the outside world is concerned I’m all bark and no bite! I do not like confrontation. It makes me sick to my stomach and just the mere thought of having to be involved in some sort of confrontation will make me physically ill. When I get mad about something regarding the school, I tell Shane why I’m mad and then tell him to go to the school and explain to them why I’m mad because I can’t bring myself to go. When I get myself all worked up about it, I start to cry. When a principal is sitting across the desk from a crazy, out of control, sobbing Mom who is trying to make him understand how her precious baby has been wronged...it is sort of hard to take her serious!
But, just like every other woman in the world, if I feel like one of my babies (and that includes Shane) is being mistreated this ole bird gets her feathers in a knot. I will claw your eyes out over my kids, my husband, my parents and yes, even my sister, her kids and her husband. I can talk about them if I want to but girlfriend you better keep your mouth shut about them. When I get to fussing about Shane or the kids I expect you to sit there like a bobble head nodding up and down, up and down and never agreeing with me verbally! Are you like that? Phew, I can get myself all worked up just at the thought.
It is amazing to me how much we have to fight each day though. Believe it or not each and every one of us are in a battle every single day of our lives. Maybe we are in a battle with our husbands over bills and money. Maybe we are in a battle with our teenager because well, they are a teenager. Maybe we are in a battle with our boss because of unfair treatment. Maybe we are in a battle because it seems there isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done and we are constantly spinning in a circle. Maybe we are in a battle with the cashier at the grocery store over the price of an item. Maybe we are in a battle for our lives due to an illness. Maybe we are in a battle due to the loss of a loved one and we are heartbroken. Everyone you see on a daily basis is fighting some sort of battle in their life. But, have you ever stopped to think that you cannot win the battle that you see with your eyes?
I’m talking about the spiritual battle that is raging all around us every single day. There is a spirit of anger, frustration, fear, grief, unworthiness, poverty, hate and many others to the point I could not possibly name them all. But, they are there in the fighting stance with swords drawn just waiting on you.
"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. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Ephesians 6:11-18.
Did you catch that part? "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood"! It is "against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil." Let that soak in for a minute! Mutter on that. Is anybody hearing me today? Our STRUGGLE is NOT against flesh and blood! We are fighting a battle that our eyes cannot see. We must not focus on what we can see but instead focus on what we cannot see. We have the best weapons in this battle! We have the stockpile of ammunition. What does the enemy have? Only what we allow him to have!
Friends, I am challenging myself and challenging you to fight THIS battle this year. When you feel as if you are fighting a losing battle please stop and step back, catch your breath and examine what battle has your attention. Are you solely focusing on the battle you can see or are you focusing on the spiritual battle that you cannot see? Put on the armor of God, take up the shield of faith and extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one!
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