Fighting spiritual battles

The difficult thing about spiritual battles is the enemy we face. It may seem like the devil is a coward because he doesn't face us himself, but in fact, his plan of attack is pretty smart. Sometimes the enemy he sends to attack us is a friendly face. We don't want to hurt them, so we parry all of their blows and never go on the offensive. We expend so much energy trying to find a way to disable them without hurting them and maybe we just need to show them some tough love. I'm not saying slash them to pieces. I'm saying don't dance around, just tell them the truth straight up and show them the error of their ways.

Another enemy he sends our way is ourself; some difficulty or distraction in our armour that slows us down, makes us expend more effort, or lose our focus. Our cluster of soldiers that we built up loses its strength. We go back to fighting in isolation, guarding our own back until the weak member is replaced or defeats their enemy. We may not be as weak as the weakest link, but we lose the strength that we found in being united. We are only as strong as we as individuals are. To gain strength back, we must weave our strength and abilities in with others. There is a point at which we must brave vulnerability and reach out in faith to someone and ask them to pray. There is a point where we must raise our visor, expose our tear streaked, dirty, sweat stained face and yell above the din, "pray for me! Guard my back." It is at this point with our visor raised that people can see our humanity, our weakness, our need. We must be brave enough to show that or else we will never gain the strength and support of others.

And we definitely need the strength that comes from unity. Thinking about it more and having another one of "those" days, I realize there are two more enemies. They are the byproducts of continual struggle. They are frustration and fatigue. Frustration causes us to swing wildly at our opponent with very little concern about aim. We effectively waste energy and even  in our wild craze of swinging, we may hit a nearby friend completely unintentionally. The phrase "venting your frustration" is common but usually means our frustration comes out at the people who least deserve it and in the most unproductive way.

And fatigue, which comes from constantly battling without taking time to rejuvenate, can be hastened by frustration. So in order to be a solid support for others and a soldier for Christ, it is important to, every once in a while, step back from the battle and breathe, rest, and rejuvenate. The people you support would rather cover for you and work a little harder now for two minutes than later for two days. So rest, breathe, do something fun and don't worry. The battle will still be there when you get back. Take all the time you need, but don't let it go on indefinitely because if you wait too long, your blade will go rusty and you'll miss opportunities.

And when you get back, don't forget to update your supporting soldiers. While you were removed from the situation, you may have thought of a new tactic. Or an enemy may have been defeated. Whatever changes may have taken place, let people know so that the formation can change to be as efficient and as strong as possible. If you defeat an enemy, let your comrades know so they can share in your joy and be encouraged. Communication is key to having a strong unit. Prayer is good and although it's not as if the general is oblivious, but specifics are always nice. So share when things change because the prayer support may change with it.