Wars have been part of society since the beginning of time. Every generation has had to deal with them. Nobody likes them but they seem to be inevitable. They exist because of sin. They evolve due to sin’s strongholds on God’s creation. They are anchored in rebellion towards God. One would think the two world wars that have occurred would be the greatest wars, but there is actually one war that is prevalent on a global scale, the war zone that is within every human heart.
Your life is a war zone.
It’s a war zone because you are smack dab in the middle of the battle between God and Satan. This spiritual battle has been going on all around us (one we can’t visibly see) since Satan deceived Adam and Eve. It’s a fierce battle and every person born is in the crosshairs because of it. God does not want Satan to take anybody with him to the eternal grave that is set for just Satan and his demons, so God in love, grace, and mercy makes a way for everyone to not succumb to the deception that the enemy dishes out so readily. God sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. In Christ’s shed blood, God takes you from guilty in sins to vindicated in Christ!
1 Peter 1:14-16 says, “So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires (sin). You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
You are called out of the sin and darkness that has a hold on this earth. You must believe God and come to know that He is the Living God. You must realize your sins and repent to Christ and ask Him to forgive you. He will. Then, you walk in a whole new way. You study the Scriptures and learn to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice as God takes you on the greatest journey of your life. He will prepare you for Kingdom living. One day, God’s redeemed children will inhabit a new heaven and a new earth that is without sin. You will have to be willing to let go of you (how you live life) and let God become first in your life (you live God’s way from now on). And in this salvation process is where the war zone ramps up.
It is natural for you to fight God, but you begin to fight for your faith when you realize that you love you more than anything else, including God. When you are willing to see your sins clearly, God can then step in and lead you to confession and sanctification. You soon find that in your willingness, you will battle with your flesh and with Satan who is does not want you to experience freedom in Christ. He does not want you experience all that God has for you. So, he deceives, lies, and gets you to doubt God, just like he did with Eve. Read their conversation in Genesis 3. He gets you to live life for yourself.
And the war zone is active and deadly if not dealt with by obedience to God.
Every child of God must fight for their faith on a daily basis. The battle is worth fighting for because God is faithful; read 1 John 1:9 and 2 Thessalonians 3:3. He never leaves you; see Hebrews 13:5. He will always love you; read Romans 5:8 and Zephaniah 3:17. You must renew your thinking. God delivered you out of Egypt (which represents sin), yet Egypt (sinful thinking and strongholds) remains in you. God must strip you of your Egypt-style living and thinking. He will sanctify you to help you get Egypt out of you; read 2 Timothy 2:21 and Galatians 2:20. God will become your life; see John 3:30.
Don’t shy away from the war zone. God is with you as you battle your flesh, your sins, your strongholds, whatever keeps you from walking wholeheartedly with Christ. Do the work and receive victory after victory. One day, when God takes you home, may you and I hear, “Well done, my faithful servant.”
Carol J German 