Spiritual Warfare

I pray that God is richly blessing each of you today! I have had a crazy, stressful week, but God is ALWAYS good so I know it will be ok.

------------------------------------------------

I recently began watching the series “Band of Brothers.” I am amazed at the inhumanity that war brings out of relatively normal human beings. When placed under extreme duress, the average human has a number of possible reactions in order to deal with their psychological stress:

1. Avoidance: These soldiers simply avoid the trials of combat by retreating, either physically or psychologically. Many of these soldiers simply retreat in on themselves, finding themselves hiding in a foxhole or staying out of combat completely. These soldiers have fallen into the idea that surviving is victory, and all of their energy is spent in personal retreat and survival.

2. Following: These soldiers simply go with the flow, following whatever they are told to do. They will follow anyone who shows initiative, whether it is good or bad. They simply look for someone to tell them what to do, how to behave, what to think… These individuals simply follow the strongest, most dynamic, or most ambivalent leader, regardless of where they are headed.

3. Average Joe Syndrome: Most soldiers simply go about their duty, following their training, putting one foot in front of the other. They see an objective that needs to be accomplished, and they go out and accomplish the objective with very little fanfare and, subsequently, very little credit. They simply plug away, doing what they are trained to do and what comes naturally. The vast majority of soldiers fit into this category, simply going about their duty.

4. Heroism: Some soldiers, in the heat of battle, rise above the moment and rise to the occasion. They don’t just achieve their objectives, they go above and beyond the call of duty. They seek out what needs to be done in order to help the unit advance, and they go to extraordinary lengths to accomplish their objectives. These average soldiers rise to the occasion and accomplish extraordinary tasks. They are not overly special, they are not made great heroes, they are no different than almost anyone else out there. They simply overcome their fears and their limitations and rise to the occasion to accomplish whatever is needed.

These observations are obviously VERY limited and do not cover the whole range of possible actions for soldiers on the field. However, I think they provide and excellent foundation.

And I have to ask myself the question, which category do I fit in in my own spiritual battles? What type of spiritual soldier am I? If Paul is right, each of us is in our own spiritual battle and we must decide how we are going to react to the trials/temptations that we face. Are we going to retreat and pretend the battle doesn’t exist? Will we simply follow whichever path seems easiest, regardless of the consequences? Will we simply avoid temptation, but rarely TRULY fight back? Or will we rise to heroic proportions in our battle against the Evil One? The type of spiritual soldier we will for the Kingdom is directly related to our reaction to the spiritual battles within our own lives. Let us pray that we act as heroes.

More to come…