TAKING A KNIFE TO A GUN FIGHT

Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.”

I admit it. I am an Indiana Jones fan. I own the movies and still watch them on television whenever they are on. One of my favorite scenes in Raiders of the Lost Ark is the scene in which Indy is fighting off attacks right and left in the marketplace. After fending off countless attackers, he looks up to see a gigantic man wielding a large sword. Exhausted and exacerbated, Indiana Jones pulls his pistol from its holder and, with one shot, drops the sword carrying foe. This movie moment reinforced the principle, “Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight”.

Maybe you can, in some sense, relate to that situation. Maybe you’ve been fighting off attacks from the enemy. Perhaps, it has seemed that no matter what you try, you are being beaten up. Failure and discouragement can quickly set in when we feel outnumbered or over matched. I, too, have felt that way in the past. I was working hard. I was trying to stand for what was right. I was… I was… I was… Still things were tough. I felt as though ground was being lost. I had moments of despair as I wanted to give up.

As I look back on some of those times, I can now see the root of the problem. It was all the “I was” moments. Every time I moved forward and tried to fix something, things got worse. I was trying to fight a spiritual battle using natural means. It’s like bringing a knife to a gun fight. The Apostle Paul offers clear explanation of the battle in which we are all now engaged. We are not fighting natural things. We are fighting spiritual things. Yet, it seems so easy to drift back into physical tactics and worldly devices to deal with a spiritual issue. Why? Well, we are fleshly by nature. We are naturally drawn to carnal thoughts, thus drawn to carnal actions.

So, how do we win the spiritual contests of our lives? First, believe Paul. Acknowledge the spirituality that surrounds us. Know that even the physical struggles of life have a spiritual root. By grasping hold of that truth, we will no longer look for our adversary with physical eyes, but we will view all that comes against us through the eyes of our spirit man. Second, be spiritual. Paul exhorts all believers in Galatians to “Walk in the Spirit, so to not fulfill the lust of the flesh”. Live lives that are directed by the spirit.

Spiritual battles cannot be won with physical strength. Spirituality requires the release of physical attributes and the dependence upon spiritual authority. Be courageous in the spirit, be bold in the spirit, and be victorious in the spirit. By doing so, life will look a whole lot different.

The next time a battle arises in your life, be sure you are carrying the appropriate weapons. Don’t run out there with your will, your knowledge, and your ability. Put on God’s armor. Let the spirit dwell within you and every ruler, every authority, every power, and every force that is in opposition will fall.