Just a Mom’s View

It’s 3 AM. Picture yourself conked out in bed. Mouth open. Drooling. Deepest sleep you’ve ever been in. Now picture most people’s worst nightmares – a robber creeping up your stairs and into your bedroom. “Give me all your money!!” you hear a booming loud voice and the click of a gun which jolts you wide awake. You sit up terrified and shaking. Your next response could mean life or death. “Umm, umm, hang on sir. I need to find my glasses first so I can see enough to find my gun so I can defend myself!” You and the robber both look at each other and laugh and laugh. You become instant friends. Of course not!! Let’s be honest. In that scenario, you have little hope of survival. You just weren’t prepared…and that led to your demise.

Such a silly example and yet our lack of preparation against the attacks of our very real Enemy are just as silly. Let’s be honest with ourselves. We are many times not fully equipped to offensively fight against the attacks of Satan. Every piece of armor that Paul mentions in Ephesians 6 is a DEFENSIVE piece except for one. As Jesus so perfectly demonstrated to us when He was being tempted by Satan, our only OFFENSIVE spiritual weapon is The Sword of the Spirit.

Lurking behind the scenes of our lives right now is a very real spiritual battle. Not knowing how to properly use our Sword of the Spirit is as foolish as saying, “Hang on sir while I find my glasses so I can find my gun! Don’t shoot!” When we are faced with any myriad of temptations or tough situations, we MUST know Scripture well enough to IMMEDIATELY recall to mind a verse that will help us fight off our Enemy. Just as we don’t have time to get prepared once an armed robber is already standing in our bedroom, we also don’t have time to get prepared when Satan has already hurled an attack at us. If we aren’t properly equipped, we have set ourselves up for failure. How prepared are we if we’ve been hit by one of his darts and we then say, “Hang on, Satan, while I try to Google a verse really quickly”? Nope. Too late. We don’t always have a heap of time on our hands when dealing with spiritual warfare. We must be READY.

Picture this – a church member walks up to you and says something rude…what verse pops in your head that you can use to combat the temptation to tell them off? You have 5 seconds to think of something and you can’t use Google. Times up.

“Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.” (Prov. 17:28)

“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21)

“If It be possible, as much as lieth within you, live peaceably with all men.” (Romans 12:18)

Here’s another example. Your child is standing next to you as you go through the mail and find a huge medical bill that you were not expecting. You already live paycheck to paycheck and there is no extra for something like this. What is your response?

“Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7)

You could have freaked out. You could have fretted and chewed your nails off or cried or called the first friend you could think of. But instead, you acted offensively with Scripture. Reminding yourself of God’s truth can get you through the worst of times.

You watch a show with lots of questionable things in it and immediately say, “No! “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes:I hate the work of them that turn aside. It shall not cleave to me.” (Psalm 101:3)

Here’s another one – You start to make up fake scenarios of what others think of you. By the end of your chat with yourself, you have no friends, no one likes you and you’re headed to find some worms. No! You tell yourself to instead filter those thoughts through the Phil. 4:8 filter. Already you’ve dwelt on things that are not based on truth. Violation # 1 of Phil 4:8. You stop the thoughts right then and there and instead remind yourself of truth. “God has blessed me. I’m going to spend the next few minutes reminding myself of examples of this”.

We could go on and on with examples of how Satan will attack us today and for the rest of our lives on this earth. Do you have Scripture locked and loaded? The only way this can happen is if you consistently open your Bible to read, meditate on, and memorize its truths.

Start with one area you have been struggling with. Perhaps you just can’t control your angry outbursts. When you finish reading this, find 5 verses that can help you deal with this temptation. Write them on index cards and carry them with you or display them in your home. Read them all day every day until you have them completely memorized. Then move on to another topic and find verses to combat that temptation. Start small – but be intentional.

There is a real battle going on this very second. Satan wants you. He wants your mind. He wants you to mess-up, and He will certainly come at you when you least expect it. Perhaps this could be the reminder you needed to boldly hold up your Sword of the Spirit and be ready to fight.