This past week, I have been teaching at Vacation Bible School at my church. In so many ways, it was a wonderful, wonderful week. Below, I am pictured with my helpers and some of our students. I'm standing in the middle. I had the privilege of teaching first and second graders.
As I implied above, I experienced a lot of spiritual warfare. A lot of people talk about spiritual warfare...but what is it, and why do we have to deal with it?
As humans, we can't see into the spiritual world, unless God gives us a glimpse into it. I'm kind of glad. I have the feeling it would be terrifying! But maybe it would be encouraging. I love the story in Second Kings 6, where Elisha and his servant are surrounded by enemies. His servant is afraid, but Elisha tells him, "Don't be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Humanly speaking, this wasn't true. Elisha then prays for God to open his servant's eyes. Verse 17 tells us that God did open the servant's eyes, and he saw that the hills were covered with horses and chariots of fire. This bolstered their courage. Although we don't often get that kind of a glimpse into the supernatural, this story serves as a reminder that, as Christians, we have that guarantee that there are more on our side than with the enemy.
Now, before I go on, who is our enemy? Are people our enemies? According to the Bible, no. Ephesians 6:12 says, "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." People might seem like the enemy. But they aren't our real enemy. There is a spiritual battle going on around us all the time. Satan has his demons working for him. This verse leads many to conclude that there is a spiritual hierarchy. But Satan is the center of it. First Peter 5:8 refers to the devil as our adversary, and says that he walks around as a roaring lion, seeking to devour people. Satan is our enemy. He may appear to be using people, but we have to remember that the people aren't the real enemy. It's easy to lose sight of that, because we can't see Satan, but we can see people.
In over two decades of ministry and mission work, I have only dealt with one person who was demon possessed (demon-indwelt might be a more correct phrase). It was very similar to what we see in the Bible in those situations. Most of the time, though, the warfare isn't that obvious. It's trying to go about our business in serving the Lord, but facing difficulties that have no real explanation. More often than not, it involves interpersonal relationships. Satan loves to pit Christians against each other to ruin our effectiveness for the Lord. He wants to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). What does he come to steal? Our joy. What does he come to kill? Our effectiveness for Christ. What does he come to destroy? Whatever he can in our lives.
To illustrate this, I'm going to tell you what my week involved, in a nutshell. As I said, I have been involved in teaching the first-and-second-graders at our church's Vacation Bible School. Six children in our class received Christ as Savior. Several in the other classes did too (I don't have a precise number right now). Did Satan like this? Not at all! He was losing people from his kingdom of darkness! God already won, and Satan knows this, but he won't go down without a fight. So he attacks those in God's service. Makes sense. Here are just a few things that followed me through this week. Feelings of despair and discouragement. Misunderstandings in all areas of my life (including a very manipulative coworker at my job). I placed my hand on a window to open it (not even applying pressure) and the whole window exploded outwardly, splintering into a thousand pieces and cutting me in the process. A very entitled man thought I was cutting in front of him in line when I went to donate plasma (something I do twice weekly) and he shoved me and roughed me up, yelling and humiliating me (not to mention scaring me to death). Even some very loving people in my life said some things that Satan used to hit me at my deepest level of insecurity (which wasn't their intention at all). I had nightmares throughout the week, so even sleep wasn't an escape. I felt like I couldn't get a break. Wherever I went, this madness followed me. These are the types of things that can be attributed to spiritual warfare. Just one of these things might not necessarily be it, but all together in this level of intensity, just happening to fall on the week of Bible School...well, I don't believe in coincidences. In the middle of all this, kids were getting saved. I'm encouraged by Romans 8:18: "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us." Being shoved around, breaking windows by barely touching them, being hit at my weakest points, having stress and pressure...none of that is worth comparing to the kids who got saved and will now be able to live in Heaven for all eternity. What I went through this week is literally less than NOTHING in comparison!
As believers, what are we supposed to do in the midst of these battles? First of all, we need to remember that our enemy is Satan, not people. I already said this, but it is so important it bears repeating. Secondly, we need to realize that Satan is defeated. Jesus defeated Satan and all his demons. Colossians 2:15 says: "When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him" That is the New American Standard versions. The NIV says that Jesus, "made a public spectacle" of the powers of evil. I like that description. The third thing to remember is that, in Christ, we have the victory! First Corinthians 15:57 says, "But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 8:31 says, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" These are things we need to remember when faced with spiritual battles.
Once we remember and consider these truths, the next step is found in James 4:7-8. "Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you..." We need to be in prayer, reading our Bibles, in constant fellowship with the Lord. If we're doing this, we can resist Satan. Resisting Satan is simply not giving in. Choosing to see the truth of the situation, not through the lens of our feelings. Not sinning in a situation. Choosing to do it God's way, even when you're at the end of what you can handle. This is only possible as we draw near to God.
God has given us tools. Ephesians 6:10-17 is a favorite passage of mine. We are told to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power, and to put on the full armor of God in order to resist the devil's schemes. Yes, all Satan has is schemes. God has the real power. But those schemes can work on us if we don't put on that armor that God makes available to us. The pieces are the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. These each represent different ways God protects us from Satan. The belt of truth is the truth, that we must remember in spiritual battles. It is not a coincidence that this belt holds the breastplate of righteousness in place. The breastplate represents Christ's righteousness, which is ours at salvation. This is the very thing that keeps us from being defeated by Satan, since our Master defeated him. The shoes of the gospel of peace are a reminder to be ready with the gospel in the midst of battle. Don't let the warfare distract us from sharing the gospel. That's the whole point. The shield of faith protects us from those fiery darts Satan throws at us (often through other people, many of whom have no idea their words are being used that way). The helmet of salvation protects us from Satan's lies. He likes to make us doubt our salvation, or doubt God in some other way. And the sword of the spirit is the Bible. The word of God. Note that the other weapons in the armor are all for our protection, but the sword is our only offensive weapon. God's word is it. It is the way we can win. Memorizing and meditating on scripture is so important.
It is also important to know that the battles don't last forever. Luke 4 tells an account of Satan tempting Jesus before His earthly ministry began. At the end of it, Luke 4:13 tells us, "When the devil finished all his tempting, he left until an opportune time." In the book of Job, Satan was only allowed to go so far. God had the ultimate control. And in a deeper sense, our battles will one day end for all time. Revelation 20:10 says that Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire forever. If you are a Christian, you are the victor, because Jesus is our Victor! To quote a favorite hymn, because He lives, we can face tomorrow! And to quote another, Onward Christian soldiers (that's us!). Moving forward, we can focus on spreading the word, fighting the good fight, keeping the faith, and finishing the race. One day, we will wear crowns of glory, preserved for us from the foundation of the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment