Staying where it is safe isn’t always the safest thing to do. Principles of spiritual warfare

When I was in the military, one of my responsibilities included defending remote air bases and landing strips from enemy attack.  During an exercise, my patrol was walking down a remote, forest-lined gravel road when we suddenly began to take fire from the trees on one side of the road.  I was a pretty new recruit at the time.  With the sound of an abundance of automatic rifle fire, I suddenly heard my squad leader say “Go toward the fire! Go toward the fire!”

Honestly, I thought he was crazy.  I was thankful that it was just a training exercise. Even still, it was a bit unnerving as I headed out into the unknown to address the threat.  That experience is something that I have always remembered.  Since then I have applied the principle O learned that day to many of life’s situations: “Go toward the fire”.

Sometimes it has served me better than others.  Take my word for it; it works way better when you are walking with God and following His instructions.

When applying the principle to spiritual warfare there are various aspects to consider in order to avoid serious, even deadly consequences.

Keeping sharp by knowing the other side
I sometimes seek out differing views from my own to challenge my application of Biblical and spiritual principles.  Time doesn’t allow too much of it but I did that yesterday.

For a few minutes, I listened to three women talk about how people who approach “spiritual warfare” the way I do should be avoided.  They said, “they take spiritual warfare as something that YOU do on your own instead of calling on Jesus to do it”.

It is accurate that without Yeshua we are in BIG trouble: Not only in spiritual warfare but in every area of life.  I am SOOOOOOO thankful for Him.  One should NEVER attempt spiritual warfare outside of a close relationship with Yeshua.

However, He is simply not going to do all your work for you.  Sure, sometimes He may have mercy on you.  He may do something for you that you weren’t even aware needed to be done or that you were incapable of doing yourself for some reason. I am very thankful and appreciative that He has done that for me in the past…

Yeshua has already told you to engage the enemy
However, generally speaking, Yeshua has already told you to stand against the enemy and He has given you the basic equipment to do so.  So as a rule, He expects you to do your part in faith.  It is then that He will step in and do His part.

There is overwhelming Biblical support for this approach; the Parable of the Talents (Mt. 25:14-30), Acts 1:8, Luke 10:17, Mark 16:16-18, Matthew 28:18-20 and much, much more.

So while it is accurate to say that fighting spiritual battles is not something that you should attempt on your own, it is just as deadly to think that Yeshua is going to fight all your battles for you.

Every situation demands close guidance from Holy Spirit but often He will tell you to “run toward the fire” in one manner or another.  However, it is important to remember that in my story, there were several elements that needed to be in place in order to successfully engage the enemy.  For example, a person in that situation would need to be in good physical condition, they would need to know principles of engagement, cover and concealment, proper weapon use, available air and ground support, etc., etc., etc.  Engaging the enemy is hard, dangerous work that involves many things.  The better equipped and trained you are the better your chances of survival.

The same principles apply to spiritual warfare.  Jumping into the unknown to engage the enemy without the proper knowledge, training, equipment, and support, and thinking that you are going to survive is folly.

In my story above, non-military thinking would dictate that you run from deadly force, not toward it:  But often, that isn’t the best thing to do.  So “staying where it is safe” isn’t always the safest thing to do.

Don’t be afraid to engage the enemy.  Sure you might take a few hits but walking into an ambush and doing nothing to save yourself is a sure recipee for death.

You’re a winner!
You are on the winning side.  However, before you engage the enemy, get into good spiritual shape, build up your faith muscles, get equipped, and learn the weapons and tactics of spiritual warfare thoroughly.  Helping you to survive is what the “Keys of the Kingdom” are all about.

Dr. Rayphe
God’s Kingdom Realm

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