The Battlefield

On vacation, I rambled down trails that led me through forests and fields teaming with the stories of historic events of a Revolutionary war battle. I pondered the bloody accounts of the Guilford Courthouse battle of 1781 while my mind’s eye strained to picture the events. March 17, 1871 the woods were filled with shouts of battle commands, the pounding of feet accompanied by explosion of black powder rifles and canons. That day the battle was gruesome. Today we enjoy the freedom bought with the blood that was shed in the Revolutionary war.

I finished my time at this National Monument with a tour through the museum. I was pleased to see that they had a movie of a reenactment of that battle. As I entered the empty movie theater my thoughts immediately turned to the horrific events of this last weekend in Aurora Colorado. Why was it that now my mind’s eye had absolutely no problem seeing? I could easily picture how the events of that midnight showing of Batman went and a shiver of fear shook through me for a moment.

 Here I was walking in to see a movie about a battle and was vividly reminded that we fight a battle too. The enemy in 1781 could be seen and heard. It was easy for the soldiers to see when to fire their weapons and in what direction. We do not have it that easy. Our fight is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against spiritual forces.(Eph 6:12) Our enemy wants to strike fear in our hearts. Our God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. (2 Tim 1:7) Our enemy wants us to be anxious and worry about the future. God knows what the future holds and asks us to not be anxious concerning what we should eat or drink… for your Father knows that you need them. We live in a tug-of-war for our hearts. My daughter Beth had a wonderful picture that spoke  her resistance to our enemy. Whenever she felt him whispering fear into her ear, she would hold up her hand and say with authority, “Talk to the hand because the heart’s not listening!” The instruction from our “General” is to “Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) That is what Beth was doing.

This world can be a frightening place to live right now. God wants to give us a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. Satan wants us to live in fear. God wants us to submit to him and resist the devil. When you have trusted Christ as you savior, then you can rest in God’s love with the knowledge that, “Greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world.” The battle is the Lord’s.

What battle are you fighting today? Have you asked God to join you in that fight?