“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh; (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-6
When someone enlists in the military, they must go through bootcamp to become battlefield ready. During bootcamp they take ordinary men and women and turn them into soldiers. They learn what they need to know to fight and win battles successfully. They will learn a variety of skills for warfare, from how to use and care for their weapons, to learning how to survive off the land regardless of the terrain. They will learn how to follow and carry out orders, how to endure hardships and train their bodies to peak performance and so much more. At times they will have grueling work outs or might be dropped in a forest where they are forced to use the resources of the location to survive. They are trained in multiple areas in order to face a multitude of different situations during battle. Yet, it would be so strange if after all their training, when it came time for battle, if instead of running into battle, they dropped their weapon and ran away screaming in fear. This would not be a good soldier. Yet there are so many Christians who do exactly that. They go to church, read their bibles, learn how faith works and how to use their faith, yet when the battle arrives, they drop their weapon (which is the word of God in their minds and mouths) and retreat by complaining and speaking fear instead of faith.
In 1 Timothy 6:12 we are told to “Fight the good fight of faith.” That means that at times when we face trials or tribulations, we need to use our supernatural weapons to fight the battle and enforce our victory that was already won for us by Jesus. The bible is very clear on how we are to fight our battles. In Ephesians 6:10-18 we are told: “Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints…”
Therefore, when the trials come, it is time to remember our training. It is not time to throw down our weapons and retreat. How do we use our training you may ask? We put on the entire armor of God. That means we take up our shield of faith and use our sword of the spirit to fight (which is the word of God). We speak faith. We speak the promises of God. We remember our training. Jesus commands in Mark 11: 22-24 “Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
Jesus tells us the formula for winning every time. The key is in our hearts and our mouths. We must believe and we must say! Therefore, like a good soldier we must constantly train our mouths, our minds, and our hearts in the things of God. That way when the battle comes, we will be ready to fight and enforce our victory. Never allow your thoughts to agree with the enemy’s strategies against you. Never use your mouth to speak the devil’s plans. Proverbs 18:21 declares; “Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” When we speak negative things over our finances, over our life over our loved ones, we in effect are speaking the curse, which is death. Imagine if that same soldier on the battlefield became so confused by the enemy he was fighting, that he picked up his weapon and started fighting alongside the enemy against his own family. That would be crazy thinking. Yet so many Christians do exactly that. They are told to fight the good fight, use the word, and speak life. Yet, they instead speak the circumstances. They talk about how they are a failure or how much lack they have or how sick they are. They are literally fighting on the enemy’s side against themselves when they do that.
We, however, will not do that. We will remember the training we receive at church and from the bible and we will put it into effect. When the battle arises, we will rise to the challenge. We will keep a good confession of faith. We will keep our armor on and use the word of God as our sword to fight the good fight of faith and enforce our victory! No matter how long or how big the battle seems, we will stand in faith and win the battle! Let’s keep our armor on, remember our training and walk in victory all the time!
Further Reading: Number 13, Numbers 14: 1-9, Romans 4:13-25, John 14:11-14, Joshua 1: 1-9, Hebrews 10:23-24
