As Christians, we are made for battle. God’s word tells us clearly that we will have trials and tribulations, or in today’s vernacular, challenges and struggles. And most of us we experience the battle to maintain hope and overcome in multiple areas of our life often all at the same time. That is why it is so important that we be prepared.
“Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything to stand firm.” Ephesians 6:13
The enemy can NOT win unless we give up, however, sometimes we don’t throw in the towel but we do back away from the battle, we retreat to what we think is a safe place and we find that the struggles seem to ease up, the challenges appear to be a bit easier. We convince ourselves that we can take a break without losing any ground. What we don’t realize is this is a tactic of the enemy, if he can’t get us to surrender, he’ll do his best to trick us into a powerless position. Much of our skirmish takes place in prayer and study. We need to be on the offense and prayer puts us there. Our goal needs to be to continually march forward into the the battles laid before us. When we do, we not only grow and learn personally, but we also make a way for those around us to step into their battles.
There may be times when we are overwhelmed and flat out exhausted, when we do not even know how what or how to pray for ourselves. This is why God calls us to live in community with other believers and why He calls us to me merciful, compassionate and full of grace for one another. When we find ourselves tempted to run for the hills, we need to instead sound the alarm. If we will share with our trusted brothers and sisters in Christ, they can come along side of us or maybe even surround us and battle on our behalf until we are strong enough to join back in. This way, no ground is lost, the enemy gains nothing on us.
Yes the victory is God’s and in the heavenlies it is already secured, but we must still do our part, for ourselves, for our children, for the less fortunate, for the lost and wayward. Our role is vital and God has given us every tool we need to be successful and advance the battle lines for His glory. Be alert, be aware, be willing to sound an alarm when needed and be ready to respond to the battle cry of those around you.
If you are not sure how to do that, Kelly Balarie has a new book, Battle Ready, that has been out for just over a month now (at the time of this post) that has a five star rating on Amazon and is getting reave reviews! I can tell you from first hand experience this book has some great nuggets of truth and strategies for preparing to stand against the enemy. Kelly also has some fabulous resources available to you on her website: I Am Battle Ready.
Not long ago I posted a blog written by Kelly about her book. You can read more about her book and renewing your mind in that post by clicking here.
This book would be a great resource for anyone because we are all going to face a battle at sometime in our life. So grab a copy from Amazon or your favorite bookstore and also, if you need to sound an alarm, leave a brief comment letting me know you’re in need of prayer or email me. I would be honored to stand in the gap by praying for you.
