‘The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.’ (v4) 2 Corinthians 10:1–5
I was once asked if it was possible to be both a pacifist and a Christian. I thought for a moment and replied, ‘No! But maybe not in the way you might think.’ My dad experienced the horrors of fighting a physical war for his country from 1939 to 1946. He spoke little of his experiences but did make me promise I’d never join the armed forces. Warfare had opened his eyes to the horrors it unleashes.
Scripture is clear that if we follow Jesus we are by default engaging in warfare. This is in the form of a resistance movement in resisting Satan from exercising his dominion on earth. He does this through appealing to the desires of our flesh, and in so doing maintains, and increases, our separation from God (1 Pet. 5:8–9).
Our responsibility is to live and demonstrate that the practical reality of God’s kingdom mandate is possible for every Spirit-filled Christian. To do so, we must be sure to get a measure of both our enemy and the tactics that will be used against us.
Much of this is driven by unseen forces that seek to invade our thoughts and direct our actions. Making those thoughts our prisoner at the earliest opportunity disempowers them, and empowers us to choose for God within life’s countless pressures.
RELATED SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER: Psa. 91; Isa. 54:9–17; Rom. 8:31–39; 2 Thess. 3:1–5.
AN ACTION TO TAKE: Take time learning to understand your thought patterns so you can discover how to interrupt and take captive negative thoughts, and those that tempt you to sin.
A PRAYER TO MAKE: ‘Lord, You are my rock and I take refuge in You. When in trouble I choose to call out to You for help. Amen’ (cf Psa. 18:1–3).
Photo by Patrick Hendry and Joshua Earle on Unsplash
