Christian Living

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All Christians have sometime in their life faced challenges to their faith. These challenges will not only be in the form of physical and mental assaults, but also through societal and financial challenges. Many times these testings of our spiritual worth are received with an attitude of questionable responses. Our thought pattern erupts with a query for answers as to why these challenges are happening to us. No Believer should be surprised by the attacks upon their faith. When a person enters the “lost and found” experience, he is automatically enlisted in the army of the Lord. He is immediately given a uniform (the Armor of God) and then receives his commission to “show and tell” the Gospel to his Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the World. (Acts 1:8) Satan detests his soldiers going AWOL and will attempt to entice them to return to the Kingdom of Darkness. The forbidden fruit tastes sweeter than the Fruit of the Spirit is what our senses lead us to believe. If Satan cannot draw his wayward people back to him, he will then attack them through their body and mind. The strategy is carefully laid out. Bring sickness and illness upon the Believer and it will not be long before the mind joins the battle in questioning why these things are happening.

Believers will respond to the initial attacks with a confident array of prayer and Bible proclamations. Depending on the degree of our spiritual status, there will either be a strong defense or a quick demise as a result from the challenge. If the attack lasts longer then anticipated, the second line of spiritual knowledge will come into play, which is a verbal rebuke against Satan and a reconfirmation of who we are in Christ. The enemy knows if the Believer is a genuine follower of Christ, or just a “fan.” We may be able to fool others, but we can never fool God or Satan.

The longevity of spiritual warfare will uncover the character of the Believer. Whenever one becomes weary in the battle, there will be a tendency to revert to mind centered warfare. Faith begins to recede, while reason and feeling enter the battlefield. All of a sudden Bible reading is compromised. Prayer becomes a ritualistic petitioning instead of a heart felt reality. As the battle continues into unfamiliar territory, new emotions arise, such as fear, worry, depression, and doubt. At this point Satan has the Believer on the ropes. It will not be long before he releases the “ifs.” Questions flood into the mind about your commitment, and “If God is who is He says He is, why don’t you have the victory?” On and on it goes, until only by the Grace of God can the battle end with victory. Satan then shoots the arrows of guilt into our minds. We feel ashamed that we let circumstances over shadow our faith. We question our lack of spiritual stamina. We wonder how we let the Word become ineffective during the battle.

Believer, stand firm in your battles, for you have the resources to not only defend your faith, but wage a warfare that will send Satan fleeing. Always remember that the darkest hour is just before the sunrise. Don’t take off your armor and put down the Word. Don’t give place to the Devil, but in all things praise your way to the victory. Just when you think you are losing, take a deep breath and proclaim, “I am more than a conqueror for JESUS IS LORD!”

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