#TargetPractice

Original post from April 28th, 2017

Why wouldn’t the enemy attack you?

Not what you wanted to hear? Well, join the club. The “the enemy is picking on me” club.

None of us whom believe in Jesus want to believe that the Christian walk has to be hard, or that we are engaging in a battle every day, but it is, and we are. A very real spiritual battle, ^“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12),  that, if we don’t know how to fight will beat us down, every single time. I am not saying this to say that there is no possible way to have joy or be happy. The exact opposite actually. The reality that Christians are fluffy, tree huggers, sitting around the campfire singing “Kum ba yah” as beautiful butterflies surround us like a fairytale cinematic adventure is, well, immature, and very far from the truth. There is real joy, abundant life to be experienced and the Bible tells us to “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). Now, why would the Bible use the word “armor” if not letting you know in this one verse alone that you will be getting your hands dirty, your brow sweaty, your feet callused, but more importantly your heart ready for battle. Giving our lives to Jesus is only the beginning and the easiest part of the Christian walk. What comes after is the hard part. This is what no one tells you about or prepares you for, for that matter.

I hope to bring a perspective and truth to many of us that fail to realize the reality we have actually signed up for. If we want the abundant, joy-filled life Jesus died to give us, we must first understand it goes much deeper than not doing drugs or having sex with everyone coming and going. Sin is sin and God sees all sin the same. This means we all need the miraculous gift of Grace. What about the bitterness we hold on to in our hearts, what about the unforgiveness we have toward others, or the gossip we choose to overlook because we follow it with “bless their heart” or “I’m not trying to talk bad about them,” but you are, that’s exactly what you’re doing, and hey, I am not innocent in this, I never talk about things I have not experienced or gone through myself. I’ve been there, but there is more. Much more. It is not easy to obtain however, yet so, so, worth it.

The lie I tend to fall for most often in my life is that literally no one understands me. I say this is a lie because, while, someone may not have been through exactly what you have gone through and sometimes can’t necessarily relate to your exact feelings on a personal level, we have ALL experienced pain and heartache in our own ways. To downplay the pain of others or assume they couldn’t possibly understand how we feel is an unfair assumption and needs to be addressed. Here’s the truth, the enemy hates you, The Enemy, not your enemies, yes he sometimes uses people in your life to get at you, but only if you give him that power. The moment you gave you heart and life to Christ a bulls-eye was painted on your forehead. I was specific in saying forehead because a large (almost consuming) part of our struggles begin in the mind. To overcome the lies of the enemy we must overcome the battle in our minds first and foremost. We should begin to paint the walls of our minds with what God says about us and to us. The opinions or negative voices of others, while they can be hurtful, should not cripple us or cause us to retaliate. The only person this hurts is, well, you. When I find that I myself have done this, I become aware that the enemy has caused me to isolate my problems and be offended at others for not knowing exactly what to say. Putting a much larger expectation on them than needs to be there.

Expectation kills so many relationships. It doesn’t look like expectation to us when we are going through it, but when you look back and get to the root of the issue, you see that when you have been hurt by someone it is because in your heart of hearts you expected something from them that they did not deliver. This leads to anger, which leads to resentment, then to unforgiveness, then bitterness. Then you’re miserable and don’t understand why.  It is a slow process and that is exactly how the enemy works. He picks day by day at your mind convincing and trying to justify you in your reasons for feeling the way you do and holding things against others.

So, why wouldn’t the enemy attack you? Does this make more sense? If not, allow me to reiterate. If you are a follower of Christ, this means.. 1. You have an Enemy. 2. He wants to destroy your soul (mind, will, emotions). 3. He hates you for your relationship with Jesus. 4. He wants to convince you that others are out to get you. 5. He knows your weaknesses and wants to exploit them by playing mind games. So what do we do? We fight! We must fight every day. In prayer. For the victory Jesus died to give us. We must seek to elevate our thinking to that of our King.

• Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:2

• Begin to think on the Word or begin to sing a praise song to God. Make a conscious effort to fill your mind with good, pure, wholesome, and lovely thoughts. Philippians 4:8

• ⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts,    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,    so are my ways higher than your ways    and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

  
  

These are just a few helpful scriptures to refer to in times you feel your back is against the wall of your own mind. When all you see is enemies at your door or surrounding your life.

Take another look. Remember who you are and Whose you are. You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength (Philippians 4:13). Freedom IS possible. I trust and have to believe this for my own life as I declare it over yours today!

Spoiler : God wins!

Much love,

K