I had to think long and hard before deciding to finally write this post. I believe the spirit of instruction won in this case. At any rate, there are a few things I feel are important to clear up if we are going to be powerfully confident. Knowing who our enemy is and who it is not can make all of the difference in the world when we are in battle. Before the battle even begins we really need to survey the situation before taking action. After all, doesn’t God ask us to be slow to speak? This more than implies that we really need to watch our step before we take it.
I recall hearing a story a long time ago about a married couple who were locking horns regarding a rough marital situation. It appears that this couple was caught off guard by a concerned friend who popped in on them unexpectedly only to find them both armed against each other with anointing oil and the scriptures! Can you picture the steamy scene here? Apparently they were each preparing to cast the devil out of the other one! Before you laugh too hard, it really does not fall to far from how battles tend to play out between our inherited family members as well. Doesn’t it seem sometimes that we are so busy finding fault in one another that we forget who our true enemy really is?
It’s true that Jesus fought the devil in the desert using the scriptures as His sword and it certainly was, and is, the appropriate way to fight our adversary. The scriptures do provide us with a fair and powerful defense when we need one. The question begs to be answered though, “When do we need one”? Let me bring it forth this way, “Have you ever been in a difficult conversation with someone who is a fellow believer and all they can seem to do is shoot scriptures at you because they feel the need to defend themselves”? I can’t think of a more frustrating way to have a conversation with those who are supposed to be our family. How can there be an exchange of ideas or even hearts when someone is too busy using the scriptures as a line of defense all of the time? In all honesty, I would rather have someone cut to the chase and come out and say what they are really thinking instead of having me try to interpret the meaning they are placing on the scriptures. A heated conversation is truly no place to cause confusion. God is not the author of confusion.
We are supposed to use scriptures with one another but the Bible tells us to use them to encourage one another! How can we ever encourage anyone if our battle scriptures are used against one another? Battle scriptures are supposed to be used against our true enemy; the devil. He is the only one we need to defend ourselves against in a heated situation. Although, the scriptures are supposed to be used to teach us how to live and behave on the playground, I am not sure God intended them to be used as arrows against one another. In the spirit of teaching, I can certainly see where they should be used for instruction, but not in an exchange with one another where people are seeking for understanding of each other.
A lot can be remedied when we understand who our true enemy is, and it is not supposed to be each other! We are human and we do come up on situations where we encounter difficult moments, misunderstandings, and conflict. This is normal, and again, it is human. It is important to handle those situations as scriptural and meaningful as we can. Yet, there is a way to be scriptural and not spout off the scriptures like we are dropping bombs into enemy territory. Those things are better reserved for “battle in the spirit time”. Remember we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities. Our scripture battles are better left for the true enemy of our soul and all of his divisive soldiers.
Our great gift to this world is to show wisdom as a warrior! We wrestle against the torrents of the enemies web in the spirit world and we find the best ways to settle conflicted situations through combinations of mercy, grace, and discipline, in the natural world. It’s a balance act that bears some practice to perfect it!
Be powerful today by knowing who your true enemy is and ask for wisdom, not to react, but to act accordingly!
All blessings be yours!
Rev Jenine Marie
Life Lessons by Jenine Marie 