We just recently started Priscilla Shirer’s Armor of God study with the ladies at our church and the timing has been perfect—it has served as a much needed reminder at this time when everyone is panicking over and bemoaning the election. People claiming one candidate or the other is the answer we need and the other is the devil incarnate. Arguing amongst family and friends on which candidate is or isn’t the answer to our country’s problems. Unkind, thoughtless things spewing out of mouths toward anyone who doesn’t agree or who is struggling with their decision and hasn’t made up his/her mind yet. Attacks on character because of who one is voting for or not voting for. Huge division is taking place in our country because of this, even among Christians, especially among Christians when we’re the ones that ought to be the light in the midst of all this, not taking sides against one another.
So, the reminder I needed from the Armor of God Study? Our battle is NOT against flesh and blood.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. ~Ephesians 6:12, NASB
We battle not against flesh and blood, but how many of us have been acting like we believe that this election season? How many of us haven’t lashed out at someone as if they are our enemy?
We won’t win this battle with physical weapons, with hurling unkind words at each other, with putting each other down, with degrading each other. Our real enemy is behind the scenes—quite possibly gleefully enjoying the attitudes we’ve exhibited this year, the terrible things we’ve spoken to or about each other, the freaking out like God’s not in control, letting fear or anger make our decisions for us when the reality is our God is bigger. Our God has greater power, greater resources, greater everything than the enemy.
We will only win the battle we are facing through God, through His power, through recognizing our true enemy and changing our tactics to fighting him through prayer, through spiritual warfare. What we’re doing now, what we’ve been doing—that’s only going to cause more division, more problems, more hate to be spewed. We win this battle on our knees, truly trusting in and relying on God and His power, not some person. This is a reminder for myself, for me to remember where my focus really needs to be, that I need to rely solely on God for the answers this country needs. No man or woman is the answer our country needs.
I’m writing this as a reminder to myself not to forget where my hope lies, where my trust needs to be, and who the real enemy is.
I realized as I was processing all this that I can say that I am actually thankful for this crazy election season! Why? Because it’s served as a teaching tool in reminding me where my trust really needs to lie. It’s served in taking me another step further in trusting God, in remembering who is really in control and setting my sight on Him. It’s bringing me to a place of trusting Him in a different way than I have before. I’ve seen how often I may say I trust in God where our country is concerned, but then I don’t actually act like it. I’ve seen how I’ve treated others poorly because of my own opinion in the past or because I haven’t really trusted God and I’ve acted out of fear or anger towards people when the Bible is clear on who my true enemy is. I know I will probably still struggle with this at times, but without the struggles, my faith wouldn’t change and wouldn’t have an opportunity to grow deeper.
Not only is our battle not against flesh and blood, but we, as Christians, ought to be the ones pointing to God as the answer, the ones not freaking out or panicking, but rather realizing God is almighty and nothing happens that He is unaware of, nothing causes Him to panic or worry. I recently saw a Facebook post by Steven Curtis Chapman that served as yet another reminder of who God is and what this is really all about. I’ll share it here with you because I think what he writes in the post and what he says in the video is worth the read and listen.
For some reason unknown to my not tech savvy self, it’s only showing the video here and not what he wrote to go with it. If you click on the Facebook icon in the bottom right corner of the video, it will take you to the whole post where you can read what he wrote. It’s worth the read.
Redeemed Hope Dweller 