This Is War

This Is War!

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”- Ephesians 6:12

I’ve been reevaluating my friends and the people I surround myself with. You see when you’re younger, you gravitate towards people and you automatically label them “friend” because you bond over a few things. Maybe you had the same crayon set, or you both found math class to be difficult. Maybe you grew up in the same sad neighborhood as one another and BAM you just clicked. Well I don’t want to choose my friends like that anymore. After all, friendships are supposed to be forever right? Well if I have to be careful on who I choose for a spouse, why shouldn’t I be just as careful with the people I talk to/surround myself with almost just as often?

As believers it’s harder to yolk yourself with someone who doesn’t understand the importance of not only your spirit, but spirituality in general. We have a war going on. As God’s children, it is our responsibility to put our armor on (Ephesians 6:10-18) and prepare for battle. No, not prepare when we feel like it; it isn’t like a test that you know is coming and you wait until the last minute to crunch for. This war doesn’t have a specific date on when it starts. It is already here!

In the past few days, actually in the past year, we have been made aware of innocent people losing their lives due to the judgment of others and we blame that on gun control and the government and the color of people’s skin. Now, I said in the past year we’ve been made AWARE, but I think most of us know this isn’t brand new behavior. This was happening before I was born, before you were born, before your parents were born & so on. We just happen to have more technology, footage, and immediate access to broadcast these events to others. This is what people would label a physical war because we physically see what’s happening around us. It’s heartbreaking, to some shocking, and because we physically see this, it enrages us.

What I submit to you, is that behind the physical is an even bigger war. One that your eyes can’t see but one that involves every single human beings life: Black, White, Asian, Indian, Hispanic, ALL! So as I look around me and see so many people in disbelief and solemn heaviness, it breaks my heart even more knowing that they are fighting against something bigger than they even recognize. If you don’t recognize what you’re actually up against, how do you know the correct weapons to use?

Now when I say I’m starting to reevaluate my friends and those I surround myself with, it’s important for all of us to think about. Who you place in your life, who you surround yourself with, who you yolk yourself to can either build you up, or distract you enough to hold you down. 

I’m going to explain to you why with this odd analogy, but stick with me:

Let’s imagine you are going to fight in World War II, or actually let’s say the Civil War (seems appropriate) and you know what you’re about to face. Therefore, you do everything you can to prepare. Everyday you add new protective gear to your collection, you go and exercise to get your stamina ready, you have your eyes on the prize in protecting not only yourself but your loved ones. The day comes when you have to face the opposing side and you step up to the line. When you look to your side you see your very best friend standing beside you playing on their Nintendo game boy. Now I know the technology timeline doesn’t match up but still…just stick with me. Your best friend has on no armor; it doesn’t even appear that they understand the intensity of the reality in front of them. It almost annoys you. You’re making sure that everyday you’re preparing yourself to take on whatever the opposing side might throw at you and your friend is looking like the worst that can happen is if they lose level 3. You almost wish you could pick them up and carry them through it, but you can’t. It doesn’t work like that. The armor you placed on is specifically to protect you, not you and a loved one. Now, do not get me wrong I’m not telling you to leave them behind and just watch them die thinking “too bad for them”. No! In fact, I’m encouraging you to do the opposite. Pull them! Shake them! Let them know that this is serious! Tell them to look up for they are in a war bigger than they can see!

This analogy represents the war we’ve been facing. Not just today, or last the decade, but since the beginning of the world as we know it. This is what satan has designed. Oh and the world is his, he’s got that. The chaos, the confusion, the death, the defeat, everything he represents; this physical world, satan is the god of. However, this world and everything in it, is temporary. All physical things are temporary, even our fleshly bodies. The bodies of those who have lost their lives just recently, may they rest in peace, they have deceased. Their spirits however, our spirits, go way beyond the physical, go way beyond this world that we live in. Please remember that we are all created by God and made in His image. We are spirit beings, we have a soul and we live in a physical body. (1 Thessalonians 5:23) God could speak another fifteen planets into existence if He just felt like it, but He purposely only made one you & that’s what He cares the most about; the physical can go.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t work on making the world a better place. As believers, we are the salt of the earth and have a responsibility to do so. (Matthew 5:13) However we can’t be the ones distracted on our game boys when we know the attacks are real, and they are not just physical.

The enemy comes only to steal and kill and destroy. (John 10:10)

You might be thinking, “Okay but if satan is not physically here, yet he also wants to attack me spiritually, how do you want me to fight him?” Well the first step comes with making a choice on what side you’d like to be on: Winning vs. Losing, Light vs. Dark, Clarity vs. Confusion, God vs. satan.

Now IF you’ve already made the choice of making Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life (please refer to’ An Invitation From God’ on the B.O.S.S. Ministries app) then the war is pretty much over, you win! But that does not mean satan will stop throwing you battles. That doesn’t mean satan will give up and stop wanting to see you hurting. God never told us we’d have days without pain or sun without rain while here on this earth, but He has promised to give us the strength to get through.

As believers, we have to be the ones who are preparing for the battle satan throws this world every day. We have to be the ones who step up to the line at war and remind him of his place which is beneath us. We have to take the responsibility of feeding our spirits everyday, putting on our armor to protect ourselves and letting the others know THIS IS SERIOUS! When you open your eyes in the morning, once you place your foot on the ground, the enemy is already thinking of ways to attack you, E-V-E-R-Y day. You can ignore him, or you can fight back. Fighting back doesn’t mean finding the nearest gun and placing a bullet through the heart of another. That is flesh and blood that we are not wrestling against. (Ephesians 6:12-13)

Fighting back does not mean seeking the revenge of those who have hurt you or have taken from you. Fighting back is to be on your guard, to stand firm in faith, being courageous and being strong in the Lord and His mighty power. Fighting back is discovering who and Whose you are as you put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the devil’s schemes. Reminding satan that because of God’s covenant with you, you’ll always have the victory. As believers, even in death we are victorious because to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8)

This is our time to be a BOSS! To step up to the line, put all distractions aside, no matter how overwhelming they seem and stay focused on eternity rather than the temporary. To stop looking to the world for justice from the unjust. To inform our loved ones that these hash tags won’t save them. This is the time to PRAY! We must encourage one another not to take another person’s life away!

“Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge, I will repay,” says the Lord.” – Romans 12:19

So as I reevaluate the closest people I surround myself with, I ask myself: Do they help encourage my spiritual growth? Are they encouraging me to prepare for the battles? Or are they too distracted with the game boys of life [the physical]? God has given us the weapons to fight this war. We are more than conquerors. We Win!! (Romans 8:37-39)