“When you go to war against your enemies, you might see that they have horses and chariots. They might even have an army stronger than yours. But don’t be afraid of them. The Lord your God will be with you. After all, he brought you up out of Egypt.”

Deuteronomy 20:1

Life can seem overwhelming most of the time. Stress increases the pressure in our schedule, the battles we face each day with addictions and past sin can haunt us, our struggles with our mental health can overwhelm our thoughts, and the doubts that come from our thoughts and words spoken over us create an unrelenting fight. This is the strategy of Satan, to get into our heads, into our minds and make us see a losing battle. Each day we are fighting in a war, one that in our own power, we are hopeless in winning. Our human nature is fallen and our enemy is very real, he wants to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). This lack of hope causes us to become overrun in the trenches, we lie in wait, hoping we can get the upper hand. The truth is, when we step into the truth that our savior is stronger than all things and he saved each of us, only then can we live in victory.

Spiritual attack comes at us fast and hard, those areas I mentioned above are things many of us fight each day when we wake, and the devil is all over it. He keeps throwing those flaming arrows at you and it can be hard to make it out in one piece, but there is hope. There is always hope. There is a God that made all things, one who chose you, he didn’t need you, yet he chose to create you. This same God sent his son to die for your sins, and to live again and have a relationship with you. Our enemy doesn’t want us to win, he doesn’t like it when we walk in relationship with our savior, so he tries to overwhelm us and break us down. He wants to make it seems like there is no escape and no chance of winning, but our God will be with us no matter what.

Walk in victory.

One of my favorite movies from last year was Patty Jenkins,’ Wonder Woman. It’s a really fantastic movie, and one that my film lover inside was able to analyze and get great nuggets out of. Recently, I’ve been fighting the enemy a lot. Thoughts, words, dealing with my own struggles; it has made things be difficult to remember that I live with a God who has already defeated death. There’s a great scene from, Wonder Woman, referred to as the “no man’s land” scene. Not only is this a well scripted sequence and a great play on words of “no man,” but it’s the turning point in the film. Steve Trevor tells Diana they cannot hope to get across, no man can cross it alive. Our heroine Diana in that moment chooses to walk in victory, climbing out of the trenches and charging forward. They are outnumbered and outgunned, but with Diana leading the charge, they have hope, and they choose to fight like they are winning the war. Not only is this a poignant moment of the hero, as well as becoming an iconic feminist movement scene, it’s a picture of how we can face spiritual attack. We need to walk in victory, not listening to the enemy telling us that no one can make it and that there isn’t a chance for survival, we need to charge in victory. In the movie Diana knew she had the power in her to claim victory, we need to claim the victory that comes from our relationship with a mighty God. In the face of adversity, walk in victory.

Live in freedom.

The biggest strategy that is used against us, is that we keep ourselves bound by chains. The verse I started this blog out with has a reminder at the end, God broke the chains of slaves and led them into freedom once before, nothing can stop him from doing it again. The story of the Israelites being led out of bondage into freedom was a picture of what would come when Christ came to die for us, and take us out of the bondage of our sins. We need to start remembering we are a free people. In the midst of your struggle, know that you’re free. When you face temptations, don’t pick up the chains that lay broken at your feat. When we live in relationship with Christ, we live in freedom, and when we live in freedom, we become unstoppable. We are able to rise out of the trenches and face the countless obstacles that stand in our way, and have victory over every single one. We have the God of the universe on our side, and he has already won the war. When you live with a victorious mindset, no spiritual attack will be able to stop you.

Leave your chains where they are, broken and powerless to our great Creator.

I don’t really know what you’ve been facing in your life recently, but I wrote this for you. I wrote this to give you hope. I wrote this to remind you that there is a person that loves you relentlessly. We are going to face attacks in our life. These can come out of nowhere and hit us so fast, but we need to remember to walk in victory and live in freedom. The only way this happens is when we fully trust God and enter a relationship with him. As we grow closer to him, he will grow closer to you. He will give you the strength to get out of the trenches and face the opposition with confidence. You are his creation, made in his image, and you are so worth loving.

You’re a warrior, it’s time to let out your war-cry against the enemy.

-Joshua Thomas

 

Author’s note: I spoke on depression today, and when I mention it, I know how dark life can seem. I know that you feel alone and hurt, but there is hope. There is always someone there for you and I never want you to feel like you have no other option. If you are feeling suicidal thoughts, I want you to call this number (844) 359-6685

There is never shame in getting professional help and I am a mental health advocate, please get in contact with NAMI (1-800-950-6264), or message me and I can direct you to some great resources.

There is always hope, and your life has value. You are so worth loving.