Tuesday, August 18, 2009

The Spiritual Battle

During the past couple of years, I have become more cognizant of the spiritual battle that is taking place around us. I think the more aware of it we are, the more we are attacked. The Bible talks a lot about spiritual warfare and battle. Ephesians 6:10-13 says, “10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” The verse goes on to talk about putting on the full armor of God – truth, righteousness and faith. I love that verse. The spiritual battle is very real.

At times, I have felt like I was under attack. Those times have been very desperate, sometimes circumstantial, and always very difficult. It has been during those times of intense attack, however, that I have come to rely on God more completely. I wrote the following poem at a point when I was feeling particularly attacked.

I am in shock at the intensity of attack
I am surrounded
And in distress
My mortal enemy has studied my weakness
And attacked with passion
I feel helpless
Powerless to stand alone
Against this onslaught
The battlefield is littered with pieces of me
My heart bleeding
Until it feels as though
There should be nothing left of it
To hurt
And yet there is more pain
I extend great effort to stand
Bloodied and beaten
Wondering how to fight this enemy
Who seems to know every crack
Each flaw
Intimately
I have no plans to surrender
Hopeful
That what little strength is left
Is somehow enough
For survival

The encouraging thing is that I did survive – and my faith stronger, and a little more refined, in that process. I am hoping for a peaceful season – less bloodshed in the future. This thought leads me to thinking about what I hope my next blog will be about…an amazing book I read by Randy Alcorn called “Safely Home”. It is a fictional book but is written using actual events that have occurred to persecuted Christians in China. My battles are very real and painful to me, but they are nothing compared to what the persecuted church worldwide is enduring. While you’re waiting for me to find the time to write that, read Safely Home – you won’t regret it.

2 comments:

  1. In it, feel it, hanging on through it, looking for the end of it!

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  2. Thanks for saying what I feel and can't express in words.

    ReplyDelete