How to Fight Spiritual Battles (Part 1)

The enemy came knocking on her door. (Actually, it was her tent.) But she didn’t panic. She remained calm, cool, and collected. Her actions were well thought-through, calculated and planned.

He asked her for water; she gave him milk…and made him feel right at home.

He let his guard down and started to relax. He was in the company of an ally—or so he thought. She prepared cozy place for him to rest, and covered him up so his exhausted body could drift off to sleep…and that’s when she made her move.

Her lethal blow finished him off.

Many people are familiar with the story of Deborah, the courageous prophetess, wife and wise judge who settled disputes among the Israelites.

But there is another female warrior in the book of judges who often goes unnoticed.  Deborah informed Barak, the military general of Israel, that he would not be honored for their victory in the war against the Caananites (due to his reluctance to fight without Deborah’s support).

The honor instead would go to a woman.

The Israelites defeated the Canaanites (Judges 4:16), but Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army, managed to escape on foot. But it wasn’t long after his escape that he was defeated by the strong hands of a fearless woman named Jael.

The honor of Israel’s victory went to this woman, who defeated Sisera with one of the most unbelievable war tactics recorded in the Old Testament.

She greeted the enemy at the door of her tent, offered him something to drink, and drove a tent peg through the temple of his head while he was asleep (Judges 4:21)—talk about a splitting headache!

Lessons from Jael’s Story

We can learn many lessons from Jael’s courageous victory as we engage in our own spiritual battles.

But first, we must recognize that…

1.) We are in a war.

There is a war going on around us. Strife. Abuse. Hatred. Discord. Paul in Ephesians 6 explains that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but

“against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Anyone who watches the evening news is well aware of the fact that we live in a broken world.

We may be in a war, but we have nothing to fear. We can hold firmly to the truth that we have victory through Christ!

2.) There is an enemy.

Just as Jael recognized the enemy Sisera when he approached her tent, the stealth serpent known as Satan still prowls this world, seeking the spiritually vulnerable to attack.

1 Peter 5:6 says that  he lurks

“like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”.

Ever since the time of the Garden of Eden, Satan has wandered the earth in search of victims to deceive and seduce into sin.

Like Jael, we must recognize the enemy when he approaches, and take action.

3.) We have the victory!

The good news of the Gospel is that we win!

Jesus through his precious sacrifice on the cross paid the penalty of the sins of the entire world, and when he walked out of the grave alive, that was the defeating blow to the enemy’s head.

In Genesis 3 God foretold of Jesus’ death in verse 15 by telling Satan, “…he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

When Jesus cried out on the cross and gave up his last breath, all seemed hopeless to his disciples. It looked as if the enemy had won. But it was a mere strike on the heel of Jesus.

When our Savior got up from the grave with all power in his hands, he completely crushed the head of the enemy.

Just as Jael crushed the head of Sisera, Jesus crushed the head of Satan.

He is now defeated—and we have victory through Christ!

Pastor David Jeremiah of Turning Point Ministries once said,

“When the devil reminds you of his past, just remind him of his future–and the conversation will be over after that!”

[bctt tweet=”When the devil reminds you of your past, just remind him of his future. David Jeremiah” username=”christinbaker12″]

Although the ultimate war is already won through Jesus, we still have to “war with” the effects of sin on the earth, our sinful nature, and the deceitful schemes of the enemy.

There are still many battles to fight on earth until Jesus returns, and the final showdown begins (Revelation 19-20).

Until the day of that final battle, it is part of our mission as warrior princesses to engage in battle on earth with the proper armor.

Not only are we clothed with garments of splendor, we are fortified with garments of war.

That is why I am so excited for Kelly Balarie’s book Battle Ready: Train your Mind to Conquer Challenges, Defeat Doubt, and Live Victoriously.

In this book Kelly will give you the tools to use the Word of God as your ultimate weapon to fight the battles that wage against us in our minds.

This post is part 1 of two-part blog post series on fighting spiritual battles with power and confidence.

To learn more about how to fight spiritual battles fearlessly,

Check out PART TWO of this series here.

 

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