Fight? What fight?
Written by Tim MacGowan
"He Hates These Cans!" - Navin Johnson
In the movie The Jerk, Steve Martin plays a simpleton named Navin Johnson. Navin unknowingly becomes the target of a deranged killer. One day, the killer tries to shoot Navin as he works at a gas station. The sniper misses Navin and instead hits the oil cans in the station window next to him. Navin is clueless as to the danger so close to him. He assumes that the gunman is out to shoot the oil cans - "there's something wrong with these cans!", Navin exclaims. "He HATES these CANS!" His inability to recognize his peril is humorous. Not so for us. Satan and the world are both trying to "steal, kill, and destroy" God's purposes in our lives. If we don't recognize it, the consequences are anything but humorous.
These are the two dominant expressions of spiritual warfare that confront believers in Jesus Christ. First, Satan hates us and has a treacherous plan to destroy us. The Bible says that Satan is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). Not a pretty thought. The nature of sin and the systems of this world are working against God's design for our lives. We are urged to "abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul" (1 Peter 2:11).
If we are wise, we will acknowledge the existence of, and understand the nature of, the warfare that is happening around us all the time. To begin we must simply grant that this warfare exists.
This blog and the ones that will follow are going to be particularly directed at those who consider Living Hope EPC their home church, though all Christians can benefit from what is written. As a church, I believe that we have experienced a heightened level of spiritual warfare in these early years of our existence. We need to be alert and armed. Let's be attentive to identify spiritual warfare where it exists. To trip us up, the conflict is often disguised as benign and normal. Here are some general things to watch for:
- Distraction and temptation following close on the heels of a spiritual breakthrough or revelation.
- Misfortune, sickness and conflict rising up concurrently with God's movement in one's life.
- Circumstances and events that attempt to derail your efforts to know, serve, and obey God.
As I blog about this subject, I will show biblical examples of these schemes and discuss the weapons we have been given to fight this battle. I do believe there is a difference between being alert to the devil's strategies and attributing every negative circumstance in life to Satan's direct warfare. We know that God is sovereign over all things so that even the elements of this warfare are under his control. The safest place to be in this war is closely following the Lord of Hosts, the one who leads us into battle.