This one statement is so absolutely true for every Christian. This truly is a war. From the moment you become mentally conscious in the morning to the moment you fall asleep, (and at times, even in your dreams), you are engaging in a war.
I believe it is easy for us as Christians to minimise the impact of this reality. We are quick to become lazy and inattentive, failing to spur our hearts and minds to think on truth and bask in the glow of God’s word. We find many easy excuses to otherwise fill our time. Prayer takes a back seat because we are too tired after a long day. Devotions are neglected because there is just not enough time. Fellowship with God and His people is abandoned because we just don’t feel up to it. The list of excuses goes on and on, leaving us half asleep as we enter into the intense and deadly warzone.
Suddenly, calamity hits and we find ourselves ill prepared for the raging storm. The waves of discouragement, doubt, and despair crash over us, again and again and again, dragging us down into the sea of hopelessness. Every wave leaves us gasping and struggling against the tide, yet the waves continue to crash over us. Another, and another, and another.
In that moment, a light breaks through the darkness. The hand of Help pulls us out of our despair and plants us on firm ground once more. A fellow brother or sister comes alongside you, reminding you of truth. The word warms your heart, and you enter into the battle once more.
The sad thing is, we so easily give in. We fall so easily into temptation, sometimes only fighting for a few seconds before we fall, telling ourselves that the power of sin is too much for us. This temptation is impossible to resist. We do not have the power to say no. Our will fights halfheartedly as our hearts grasp frantically at the idols we truly desire. The war rages on, yet our swords are lowered as we welcome the death blow of sin.
This may seem like a hopeless scene, but indeed, it is not. Because we have a Champion on the battle field with us. And not just with us, but for us. While we struggle, He has already triumphed and won the war for us. He has given us the power to put sin to death.
Let us go back a few thousand years. We see a Man in the wilderness. He has been fasting for 40 days. He is hungry, tired, and alone. Thinking this would be the best moment to see Christ fail, Satan jumps at the opportunity. The temper stands before the Son of God and throws his best offerings before Jesus. First, he offers Jesus an immediate need, bread, if Jesus would just do a simple miracle. Second, he tests the deity of Jesus. Third, he offers Jesus all the world has to offer if Jesus would merely bow and worship Satan. What audacity. What ignorance. What foolishness.
Jesus triumphs over temptation again, and again, and again, persevering through each one until the end. Each time, He counters Satan’s lies with Scripture, with the very words of God. Even though He is exhausted and hungry, Jesus does not fall. The Son of God triumphs where every single human being has failed. He fights the war and emerges as our Champion and Victor.
And because Jesus has won this war, we can too. Not only that, but we will! We do have the power to put sin to death. We do have the power to fight temptation and to triumph over it. We do, because the Spirit of God is alive in us. Christ and Christ alone is our motivation, our power, our prize.
Therefore, may we fight this war with boldness and passion. May we be serious about putting sin to death, and may sin become utterly disgusting to us. May the way we fight testify to the reality that we would rather die than sin against God.
May we fight this war with such zeal that when we enter into glory, we enter with scars, with bleeding battle wounds, with torn and battered armour; all pointing to the fact that we truly fought the battle, that we persevered well, and that we stood firm to our last breath.
Therefore, let us strengthen our limp hands and weak knees. Let us fight this war, and fight it well.
Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
Hebrews 12
To The Heart 