When The Battle Comes

Over the last month my family and I have found ourselves in the midst of a battle. A battle that totally blind side us. Here are a few things that I have learned through this battle:

• I am not as strong as I thought I was but the armor of God is made to outlast the battle. I have taught that we are equipped to outlast the battle and now I am going through a battle that shows me first hand. When you are in the midst of a battle you must remind yourself of the Armor of God and the importance of every item. When the battle comes every piece of equipment will be tested and at times to what you feel is the fullest extent of what the equipment can take. Be assured the Armor of God will not fail even when it seems that we and it may.

• Guard your mind and don’t fight battles that you don’t need too. Our enemy will attack our minds. Our enemy will punch you in the stomach (at least that is what it feels like at times) Our enemy will try to make you think you are going crazy with anxiety and that your faith is useless. Our enemy wants us to shut down mentally and to feel overwhelmed. We must remind ourselves that our Enemy is a liar and he is defeated. We serve a Great and awesome God that has never been defeated.

• We must guard our minds with the Helmet of Salvation.  I believe The Helmet of Salvation has three purposes. First the Helmet of Salvation is the place in our hearts and minds where we hold our testimony of coming to Christ. Second the Helmet of Salvation is there to protect our minds from attack by keeping our minds fixed on Christ. The helmet is the item that keeps our minds on what God has done for you in the past.  Third I believe the Helmet of Salvation is part of our daily walk with Christ. The Helmet of Salvation brings us to a place in our hearts and minds that being a Christian is more than just an occasional thing it is a daily walk. The challenge comes when we remove the Helmet and leave our minds open to attack. We must Strap the Helmet of Salvation on and not let our minds become a battle field.

• Some things don’t make sense but God is the constant and knows what is going on.

• Evaluate your walk with Christ and see if there are areas that need to be improved. I believe that if we are all honest we all have areas we can improve in. Sometimes it takes God moving us through things to get us to purge those things that are not needful and to get us to step up things up where we have been lacking. We often let life drag us away from the things that God wants us to do. We all need to spend more time on the things of God. I am convinced that we settle for being a good Christian instead of striving to be a better one and advancing to what God has for us.

• Remember that the battle effects the whole family. You may be consumed with the fight but so are those that you love. Encourage each other and don’t shut each other out. There maybe times of “intense fellowship” (yelling or talking loudly) times of tears but wrap your arms around each other and know that love is what is needed and meet at that common ground that every Christian home has. Which is God and ask him for strength and help. Knowing that with God all things are possible.

• Have prayer partners you can confide in. Also ask other to pray for you without sharing much detail about the situation. (Not everyone needs the details of the request) God’s people pray and God answers. I believe that we all should have Prayer partners. Prayer partners a list of five or so people that you can trust to pray for you about anything. Remember to pray for others even though you find yourself in the midst of something.

• Pray, Pray and Stay in the Word of God. Pray the promises of God. Spend time fasting. Fast because you need God not because you see yourself as some spiritual giant. Study passages that show the awesome move of God in situations. Passages like the story of David and Goliath, The Resurrection and Jesus walking on the water. The bible is full of victories and we need to claim victory. Study the promises of God and even pray them. The promises of God our there for us.

• Seek advice from those that are wise and in those that have been through tough things. We don’t know all the answers. God has brought people through things and they can help you get through with their testimony and advice.

• Look for victory and prepare the testimony. I am writing this before we have received complete victory over this situation. I am writing in faith knowing that God is no stranger to victory and therefore being his child I am no stranger to victory. I know that God is with us and has carried us through this situation. I know that God has a purpose for everything. I know that God loves us and will not leave us. I know that we are more than conquers. I am thankful for the victories that we have already seen in this battle. I am preparing a testimony of victory in my heart. We must get to the point in the battle that we see by faith the place where we will drive our flag in the ground in victory. God does not know about losing He is undefeated and therefore so are we.