Are you a fighter? A warrior? What will you fight for? Fight against? What needs defending? What are you willing to do to defend (fill in the blank)? And in the fight – what and who are you engaged in battle – probably one of the three initial critical questions? Maybe I should ask if you realize you are in a fight? And if you are in a fight, are you in it to win? Not everyone engages in battles that they will put all that they are on the line. Then again… losing a battle doesn’t mean losing the war! But our attitude is all important. If we don’t enter the battle with the mindset of winning then why bother? And if you don’t bother, trust me – you will lose the war.
If you are in a fight, what weapons do you use? And equally important – who is your enemy? One pastor expressed it as we are fighting for the truth. Interestingly enough – that is also a weapon we can use. Truth can’t be defeated and always has the strength to stand. I heard someone say that there are many truths? Not… when the subject is the same. If there are many truths then there is no truth and truth IS a force. Our responsibility is to know the truth. And while truth is definitely a weapon, its use is NOT to batter down people. We use it to defeat the enemy not to injure people.
Enemy? Ah yes, we all have enemies but they are not all of the human variety. Scripture tells us what we fight against as well as tell us what our weapons are. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 tell us,”… the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds…” Ephesians 6:10-17 expands this teaching by identifying our enemy – devil, principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness, spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places – and in verses 14-17 indicates our weapons – the whole armor of God. We are more than equipped.
What are all these battles about and for? The hearts and minds of people. That’s why the battle is so important and the winning/losing so critical. Lives are at stake. When you think you are ‘fighting’ another person… check to see what fortresses and strongholds seem to exist and which ones appear and don’t eliminate yourself from this analysis. I realize I use the word, ‘critical’, a great deal but it is incredibly important to know Who you are fighting, Why you are fighting, What are your weapons, and the specific target of this skirmish or battle.
… are you a warrior?
