This is how we fight our battles

What do you picture when you hear the words “spiritual warfare”?

I don’t know about you, but I have always thought about violent scenes between angels and demons, or maybe something out of the movie The Exorcist or The Omen. I mean, warfare means there’s a fight, right? And probably somebody dying?

Even the verses we quote from scripture that deal with spiritual warfare reinforce this imagery.

For we do not war against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, principalities and powers.

Put on the full armor of God.

Take up the sword of the Spirit, the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation.

War. Armor. Swords, shields, and helmets. The imagery is unmistakeable.

Don’t get me wrong, the spiritual life is definitely a war. And there are often casualties. And it’s messy. But I also think that most of the time, it’s more subtle than an exorcism or hand-to-hand combat.

The spiritual life is definitely a war.

I have found that whenever I am on the frontlines of ministry, particularly when I am focused on something that I believe is dear to the heart of God or critical to the mission of the Kingdom, I meet strong resistance. But rarely is this resistance overtly spiritual, or overly war-like. If I’m honest, it looks more like bad luck.

Let me give you some concrete examples. Pam and the kids were on their way from NC to FL. In SC, the van threw a belt, stranding them. They had the van towed to a shop and the belt replaced. After all was said and done, it was about a four hour delay, and just over $100. Not bad, all things considered, but the stress it put on them, and on me (waiting in FL for their arrival), was palpable.

And the stress continued. Shortly after their arrival, the check engine light came on. And then my debit card number was stolen and purchases made. (The money was ultimately returned to my checking account, and a new card sent to my home, but it meant finishing our trip without my card, and the stress of moving money between accounts to ensure we could cover our expenses.) Then, after several years without an incident, I had a gout flare up. But instead of my big toe, where it has reared its ugly (and painful) head in years past, it flared in my ankle. That made it harder to diagnose initially, meaning it lasted longer.

And it didn’t stop when we left FL. Some bills were late because the auto-pay was tied to my old debit card. Then the AC in van stopped working the day after we got home. Then yesterday, our son was in a minor traffic accident, but serious enough that his car isn’t drivable. And naturally he’s sore, and a bit stressed, reliving the accident in his mind.

There were more issues along the way, some more minor or major than others. But the cumulative effect on our family kept, well, accumulating.

As I think back on it, this series of unfortunate events took chunks of our time, money, and emotional energy to deal with. None of these obstacles were individually insurmountable, but each of them distracted us. And discouraged us. And drained us.

And that’s warfare. Anything that would cause us to lose faith, or lose hope, or lose momentum, those are the things we must pray against. And we must see them for what they are and not get lost in the frustration of our circumstances.

Anything that would cause us to lose faith, or lose hope, or lose momentum, those are the things we must pray against.

We have a saying in our family. It’s more fun to laugh than to cry. As the “bad luck” kept piling on, I felt my stress levels increasing. Uncharacteristically, in some quiet moments, I found myself on the verge of tears. Then Pam, in her gentle way, reminded me. “With everything that’s going on, it would be easy to cry. But I’d rather look for the blessing that’s on the way! I choose to laugh!”

She was right! Time and again, when we’ve had what the world would call a string of bad luck, God has showed up big time. Why not believe that he will do the same now? In other words, we just need to wait!

Wait, or the Hebrew equivalent qavah, has been an anchor for us over the past decade. And here we are again, waiting to see what God is going to do.

Waiting on God, that expectant waiting, has been our source of hope. There is hope in the waiting.

And those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)