LIFE IS A BATTLE

In recurrent health and economic threats we must remember that the Scripture warns us that life is a battle, that we will face evil days of crisis and tragedy, and that we must put on the whole armor of God if we are to survive and be victorious. “Put on all God’s armor so that you will be able to stand against all the strategies and tricks of Satan.”  (Ephesians 6:12)

We face a formidable foe, an enemy who, although decisively defeated by Christ’s cross and resurrection, still has power to harm us. It will not be until the end of time, when Christ shall come again, that he will finally destroy all dominion, authority and powers that compete with the kingdom of God. “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:24-26) We must put on all God’s armor so that we are ready to stand against the power of death. Death still has power to touch us. We need to be assured that one day it will be robbed of its power. In the meantime we must not fear illness or death. Jesus is the conqueror of all death and disease.

When we least think that we or our loved ones are in danger, tragedy can strike. We can be taken by surprise, unaware that we are being ambushed by the enemy. In the Garden of Eden we  read that “the serpent was more crafty than any.”(Genesis 3:1)  St. Paul is concerned that “just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3)  He talks about being ready so “that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” (2 Corinthians 2:11)

If we are to be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power, we must put on the armor he supplies. We have to stand and fight to defend ourselves against the devil’s schemes.

What are we defending ourselves against? What is the method, the strategy, of the forces of evil? It is the various means they employ to separate us from the love of God, and from fulfilling the purpose of God in our lives. It is the plan of our enemies to divide us from one another, to sabotage our relationships, to injure our health and well-being, to destroy our hope, to take away our joy, to prevent us from living the kind of life God intends for us to enjoy in Christian community.

The Bible tells us that the devil uses multiple means to hurt us and to separate us from God. One is through natural disaster and disease. He used lightning to burn up Job’s sheep and kill his shepherds.  It is recorded that it was Satan who sent a hurricane to destroy the house of Job’s eldest son when his family was gathered there for a party. All but one survivor were killed.  The Bible does not attribute the calamitous events of life to secondary causes, such as freak weather conditions. Just as God can perform miracles of grace, he can also send pandemics and earthquakes. The devil also is permitted to send lightning and hurricanes.

Jesus said of the woman who had been crippled for eighteen years, that she had been bound by Satan.  Not all natural disasters or diseases are the work of the devil, but he can use natural calamities to sow despair in the hearts of those affected by them. Paul called his thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment him.  When bad things happen to us or to our loved ones, we need to put on the armor of God.

The devil can overwhelm us with fear and anxiety so that we do foolish things. Peter is an example of this. After pledging that he would never forsake Jesus, he was told by the Savior that Satan desired to have him so that he might be sifted as wheat, and that he would deny Jesus three times.  In the courtyard of the high priest’s house, this bold, self-confident Peter denied Christ with oaths and cursing, because of the spirit of fear, stimulated by the devil, made him afraid of losing his life.

The forces of evil desire to alarm and frighten us. They cause us to be anxious about our careers, our health, our finances, our relationships, our appearance, and our families. They want us to worry and so deny the presence and provision of the Lord.

If we are to survive the evil day when we are under attack from the evil one, we must be aware of his strategies and tricks. We must be ready for the battle. We are fighting for our lives, our peace, our faith in God, our hope, our confidence in Christ. Therefore we need to be aware of the devil’s traps and snares. What are they?

We need to be aware of how the devil operates. Paul, talking about false teachers, says, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an apostle of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15) The devil wears a mask, like an actor portraying various characters. He doesn’t always come as a roaring lion to terrify us.

He can come as your friend, as a distinguished and attractive speaker with all the right credentials. He can come as a counselor, as a writer, as a philosopher, as an entertainer, as a talk show host. He can dominate the media, infiltrate the news, permeate the pronouncements of the health authorities, panic sports events, cancel gatherings, sow fear and anxiety, shut down schools and churches. He can besiege us so that we feel under attack and vulnerable.

He can come as an authority on the Bible, as a leader in the Church, reinterpreting the Gospel so that it requires less discipline, less self-control, less responsibility, less sacrifice, and therefore is more popular. He can play down the importance of our creeds and historic faith in favor of a looser morality. He can promote new heresies out of old religions. He can reinvent Christianity as a feel-good cult with engaging and appealing leaders.

We want to avoid being taken by surprise and defeated by the enemy when the stock market dives and our income and health is threatened. If we are to be ready for the battle we must become aware of the traps and snares that are laid for us by Satan masquerading as an angel of light. That is why we need the armor of God, to protect us from been taken unawares. We need to be ready for the battle so that we can be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

The Spirit tells us that “in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (1 Timothy 4:1).  The confusion in the church and the world about what to believe is going to happen to us is the fruit of the activity of the forces of evil.

This is a spiritual battle we are fighting. “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4,5)  The armor of God provides us with the spiritual protection we need.

Satan is the Hebrew word for accuser (Revelation 12:10, cf. Zechariah 3:1; Job 1 :9,10). He is described as the “accuser of our brothers”.  That accusing spirit can infect us also. One of the devil’s schemes is to make us accuse each other, blame one another, for problems in our lives. This is no more evident than in politics. Who is to blame for disease, or for inadequate health measures, or for our fears that no one is in control? When we find ourselves infected with a critical spirit we need to remind ourselves that Jesus told us to be careful about taking the speck out of our brother’s eye when there is a plank in our own eye.

A critical spirit is evil – we are told not to judge one another harshly or to condemn one another, that is reserved for God – but a discerning spirit is good. We cannot turn a blind eye to evil, to deny the reality of evil in our lives or those of others. There is a spiritual battle going on, and we need to be ready for it when it comes in the crises of our lives.

A Morning Prayer:

This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give me the Spirit of Jesus. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer)