Hello you beautiful, beloved, luchadors!
I was thinking about wrestling yesterday. In the dentist chair, thinking about wrestling.
How can I go from this,:
to this :
???
What came to mind was that verse in the 6th chapter of Ephesians. Paul says:
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
What does he mean? When I was young, I thought after reading this, that there were invisible demons and evil spirits flying around ready to take us to the mat, or a giant “eye of Sauran” looking for me, you know, like in the Lord of The Rings.
But in thinking like that, I was distracted from the true principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness. I thought in the dentist chair, What are the real invisible evil spirits running around, seeking whom they may devour? The answer was simple:
Fear.
Guilt.
Bitterness.
Shame.
Worry.
Hatred.
Defensiveness.
Offensiveness.
Despair.
Hopelessness.
These are the opponents with whom I have wrestled. You will have your own list, beloved luchadors. They are the invisible enemies come to take us down and defeat us. The true villains. And many times in my life, I felt that they had won. I was powerless against them.
Paul says, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
But that just makes me think of the King of Israel putting on a bunch of heavy armor on young David to go out and fight Goliath. I couldn’t even begin to figure out how to put on this holy armor. So let’s break it down:
- Girt our loins with truth. Jesus is the truth. He will bring us into all truth. Check!
- Have on the breastplate of righteousness. We are completely covered in the righteousness of Jesus. Check!
- Have your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. I really don’t know what this one means. But I’m pretty sure, now that I’m giving it more thought, I bet Paul is talking about that verse in Isaiah 52: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!”
So, once again, it all comes down to God reigning. What awesome and magnificent news!!! I pray that we would all see that God reigns. He reigns over every moment, every struggle. No worries. Check!
- Taking the shield of faith. Hebrews says in chapter 12, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” . So Jesus created our faith and will bring it to full fruition. Again, Jesus. Check!
- Take the Helmet of Salvation. Jesus has given all of us salvation, freely, by giving Himself in our place. Jesus. Check!
- Take on the Sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. Jesus is the Word of God, spoken to all, revealing the Father to us, bringing us with Himself into the Holy of Holies, not ashamed to call us brethren. (Did I get carried away on that one? I just get excited.) Anyway, once again, Jesus. Check!
The answer to all is Jesus. We are in Him and He is in us. All of the enemies listed above, and any other ones on your lists, are under His feet. They have no chance whatsoever. The battle is only making us stronger in Him. We are never without Him. We are never alone. “The battle is the Lord’s.” (1st Samuel 17)
I’ll finish this up with a verse that I like even better for fighting these invisible enemies and principalities. It comes from Colossians 3. “And above all these things put on love……..” Nothing beats love. Period. The love of God which He pours out to us freely, a river that will never run dry.
I love you all, my fellow luchadors.
Draganjac
SIDENOTE WRITTEN WEEKS LATER:
I find myself being kind and loving and patient for a while, and I say, this is great. I’ve got my Godly armor on, I’m fighting the good fight in Jesus, trusting in Him. Sunshine and rainbows.
Then I wake up one day after I didn’t sleep well. I’m tired. I’m emotional. I’m snippy and impatient and unkind. And I begin to despair, thinking I will never be what God desires me to be. My crappy self will always break through and ruin everything. What a wretch I am……….
Beloved, if you have ever felt like me, like a hopeless case, fear not. Don’t worry. This is part of all of it. Seeing what needs to occur. God pulls it all to the forefront. He is faithful to do this. Do not think that you are out of His hands. More assuredly, we are under His care, His perfect work. How will the gold be pure, if the dross is not burned off of it. We are in good, loving, and more than capable hands.
Fear not. A wrestling match has many rounds.
