"It's a battlefield, brother,
not a recreation room;
It's a fight and not a game!"
Have you ever had one of those days when you felt like you were in a battle but you didn't know with whom? Well, I can give you a very valuable piece of information—the devil is your adversary. We are in a battle with the evil one!

We have had an active enemy since the day we were born on this earth. We do not need to panic about this truth, we just need to acknowledge it as true and then get trained for the battle.

You see, the truth is that we are in a battle. The devil is the enemy of your soul. When you translate that word soul, you can clearly see that Satan is engaging your mind, your will, and your emotions in warfare, as well as your heart.

A War On Three Fronts
It is easier to fight the forces arrayed against us when we know that the battlefield lies in the workings of our mind—that our thoughts are being assaulted with Satan's propaganda, that our will is in jeopardy of being taken over, and that our emotions are being manipulated.

When I accepted Jesus as my Savior at the age of nine, I had no idea of the battle before me! I knew that Jesus was in my heart and that I wanted to do everything that pleased Him. I had a very narrow view of the meaning of salvation and sin. What I did not understand was that my mind was basically trained to live like the world, or to live according to Satan's domination.

My parents were Christians, and I had a better childhood than most; however, they did not have the revelation of the Word that we do today. I was taught the "dos," the "don'ts," and the stories of the Bible, but I did not have the full revelation of how the devil operated or how the armor of God could help me.

I thought that living for God was all up to me and that I had to find a way to "do it right!" I was successful for several years. However, when I was in my early twenties, the enemy came against my stand for Jesus Christ with a triple whammy.

The devil hit me with sickness first. While I was staggering under the weight of my body acting "haywire," he sent a seducer my way. Now, I could sustain my victory over the enemy as long as he was just attacking my body; but when he attacked me through a seducer, my mind was overwhelmed, my will was torn, my emotions were in an upheaval, and victory was a long time in coming.

Thank God victory came; but the battle was intense, and I received many wounds simply because I had not been taught or trained how to wage war on the battlefield of my mind. My thought processes were chaotic and very negative; my will was damaged; and my emotions were out of control.

I recovered, but how blessed it would have been to have known the truth up front!

Better Trained And Equipped
Today, if the seducer comes into my life, he would get sent packing immediately. What is the difference? I know my enemy, I know the battlefield, I know my equipment, and I know my Helper! I know the promises of the Word concerning healing and relationships.

I understand that promises become manifested in my life by the operation of faith and patience. I have been trained, and I learned how to lean upon the Holy Spirit and to follow Him through the inner witness. In other words, I have now been trained and equipped to fight the "good fight of faith!"

The reality of a Christian's life is that each one of us has to answer this question for ourselves. "Will I train and equip myself to fight the good fight of faith, or will I allow myself to stay unskilled and ill-equipped—only to get whipped by the devil?" We get to choose our way of life—life or death, blessing or cursing (Deut 30:19-20).

It is up to every one of us to make that decision and then commit ourselves to that decision. God is not going to "twitch His nose" like Samantha on the old TV series, "Bewitched," and turn us into spiritual giants. No. It is up to us to enlist, or volunteer, to be trained.

We must search and study the Word of God so that we can understand the spiritual war we are in. We must submit to the teaching and training of our God-given "drill sergeants" (pastors, teachers, etc.). We must get dressed every day for the battle. And, we must anticipate attacks.

Since we know that we are in a battle, why do we get so surprised when the enemy attacks? We have everything at our disposal to be ready and prepared. In John 16:13, Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit would, "show you things to come." I know that there are many things that the Holy Spirit will show us about the future, but I believe that one of the things He will show us is how to be ready for the attacks of the enemy.

We don't have to be surprised all the time or taken off guard.

His Armor; His Equipment
When we have been educated and trained, then we can go onto the battlefield with great courage and assurance. Why? Because we know that God is our leader, our protector, our helper, and our comforter! We have the equipment we need to fight the enemy. God, through His Word, gave it to us—it is His armor and His equipment.

Do we think that God would provide us with armor and a weapon that was not completely effective in the battle we are engaged in? Do we judge, for instance, that the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, is like shooting an AK-47 at a B1 bomber? Or, do we stand in the assurance of the truth—that the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, can decimate anything that Satan launches against us?

I challenge you today to set yourself to be trained, counting God faithful and His armor powerful. Put on the full armor of God on a daily basis and be ready to use it. Put on the helmet of salvation to protect your mind. Put on the breastplate of righteousness and protect your heart. Put on the shoes of peace to stand firm on the promises of God.

Use the shield of faith to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And then, let the Spirit of God wield the sword, which is the Word of God. How will He wield it? He will stir your heart with the Word; and then, you let those words come out of your mouth.

You supply the willingness by yielding your body, which includes your mouth, and then let the Holy Spirit do His job.

Dwayne Friend, the writer of the above referenced song, concluded it with these words,

"Run if you're going to;
run if you will,
but I came here to stay!"
I challenge you to put on your armor, take your stand, and make the devil run.

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All rights reserved. Used by permission.