Entering the Battle

This has been a week of hard stories.

Some I have just heard about, I’ve had a meeting with a dear lady, a talk with a friend, I’ve received a few emails.  Some I know most details, some I know very little.  But here’s what I know about all of them.

We are in a battle.  And the enemy is hard at work.  And skillful.  And he’s winning a few battles.

I forget sometimes.  I get living my life, worrying about the everyday things like meal planning and finishing school and I forget that every minute of every day we are in a battle.

Every day Satan is attacking the family.  Either my family, or your family, or those around us.  When my family almost fell apart, I was acutely aware of the battle.  And I put on my armour and fought hard against the enemy.  But when things calmed down, I forgot again.  

This week has been hard.  Its tiring to enter the battle.  Its tiring to be on alert.  Some days I wish I didn’t know the hard stories.  I wish I didn’t have to worry or pray about them or try to help.  But then I remember what it was like to be in the middle.  How I needed all the help and support I could get.  Because the battle can be long.  It can be hard.  It has days of victory and days of defeat.  Here’s some things I’ve learned about the battle for my family that might be of help to you.

Prayer is our greatest weapon.  Sometimes it feels as though when we say to someone that we’re praying for them, its because we have no other option.  But prayer should be our first and greatest option.  Sometimes I discount its power because it doesn’t feel like I’m “doing” something.  But there is no other way we can so directly enter into the battle against the enemy.  Its the best option for fighting alongside others, but its also the best thing we can do when the battle is our own.  Nothing will strengthen or soothe the spirit like time spent in prayer.  It also helps us remember our eternal focus, keeps our eyes lifted up on what’s important.

Reaching out is so good for us.  When we’re in the middle of the battle we can feel alone and isolated, and often its because we’ve made it that way.  If no one even knows we’re in the battle, how can they fight alongside us?  When I was in the thick of it, I reached out to several people and it was the best decision I made.  I needed to talk, I needed support, and I needed guidance and correction.  These few close friends kept me going.  And you need them too.  

Being in a battle is nothing to be embarrassed about.  I guarantee you, you would be completely shocked by the amount of stories I’ve received since making my story public.  God’s people are not immune to attack, we are not immune to sin, and we are not immune to heartache.  You might thing that there is no one who would understand, or people might be too shocked by your story, or that they will think you’re a terrible christian.  That is just not the case.  You are not alone.  And the more you reach out, the more you’ll realize that.

We have a real enemy, and that enemy is not other people.  While it is true that other people can hurt us, and it can feel as though they are attacking us, when we keep our eyes on the eternal, we realize that God loves those people just as much as He loves us.  And we can take our eyes off of them and fight the real battle.  The spiritual one.  Its then that we can learn and grow from those people instead of using precious energy fighting against them.  Its so easy to think that other people are our enemy when we are actually called to love them.

Are you in a battle this week?  There are some action steps here you can take to help you fight.  If you’re not in a battle, maybe you could come alongside someone who is.  We can pray, reach out, fight together.  Battling alone is hard and discouraging, but together we can strengthen one another.