(this picture has nothing to do with my post, but i like visual aid)
a few weeks ago i was watching a documentary about WWII on netflix with bronson. It was a compilation of this amazing color footage taken during WWII. The people making the film spent 2 years gathering the film and putting it together. Weaved in and out of these plausible scenes of war were journal entries from men who fought for the US, telling us real stories from the things they were seeing.
One entry that stood out to me when I was watching the documentary was a soldier talking about how the American media had the tendency to glamorize war for the American public. The people sitting at home on their comfy couches eating dinner and watching the evening news only saw pleasant pictures of Strong US soldiers in good morale, mightily going out to conquer the militaries of opposing nations. But that wasn't the image I got when i saw the footage in this documentary. I saw scared soldiers and a lot of death. It makes sense to me that war would look like that. The man who wrote the journal entry said that the soldiers who fought in the war wanted America to know the truth about war, the horror and filth of it all. and that for them, day in and day out, the battle was not glorious. he said they were always "inches away from death at any moment." They didn't always feel strong. And they weren't always winning the fight.
this makes me think about the widely held concept that we as Christ followers, have enlisted to fight in a "battle" against Satan and his angels. We all have our own way of picturing war. usually when I think of battle, i imagine scenes from movies like Lord of the Rings or Braveheart... the glorious scenes right before the battle where the fighters are donning their helmets and holding up their shields, forming a line.. mighty and strong. They look fierce. Ready to fight.. and they definitely don't look tired. And I think when I initially thought about "the good fight".. this is how I saw myself. There is no question about it, it is more inspiring to picture ourselves in this moment when we are getting amped to go out and fight hard for the Righteousness of our Lord. We still have all our strength. We still feel like giving epic speeches and letting out battle cries to rally everyone else around our cause. We haven't lost anything yet. And yet, naturally this is what we want to think of when we think of fighting in our spiritual war.
But I think to maintain this view is to do an injustice to how hard it actually is to hold your head up in the midst of continuous attacks from the enemy. It is much less glamorous to picture ourselves in the middle of a bloody battle, encroached by death on all sides.. trying to make it out of harms way in tact. but THIS is the truth about a battle. THIS is what the true veterans of the fight would want you to know. and THIS is what we were getting into all along. We should not be surprised by loss. We are fighting against an enemy who comes to steal, kill, and destroy.. and don't think for one second that he doesn't know the weaknesses in your armor, because he does. and because i have felt the flames of his arrows lately, i too will tell you that in this battle "we are inces away from death at any moment." Especially if we lose hope. I may just be speaking from my own experiences, but it seems to me like Satan doesn't retreat unless we know how to fight him. And maybe I'm the only one, but sometimes I forget that I carry the power of Jesus Christ in me, and sometimes I cast my eyes downward. I think sometimes I that because I haven't held close to my heart a clear perspective of the battle going on.. i don't always fight back.. or even worse, I forget that I even have to.
there is only ONE thing that can keep us from losing our lives in this blood brawl, and i bet you know what that is. The other morning i was reading in Psalms, and i found myself taking in the truth of the 91st. The entire passage hinges upon whether or not we DWELL in (live inside of) the shadow of the most high... because then, and ONLY THEN are we protected from the attack of death we see all around us.
(here i will add that if you don't see the attack.. i'd like to politely ask you to please, come out of your bubble)
Look at the picture this scripture paints of war:
My Refuge and My Fortress
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place-- the Most High, who is my refuge-- no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. "Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation."
in case you missed it, there is a nasty battle scene raging here.. there are arrows of evil plots and slanders of the wicked that fly by day, and deadly disease (pestilence) that stalks in the darkness, and the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste ant noonday. There are thousands falling at the side of the fighter, and ten thousand at his own right hand. but the promise stands that he will be right in the middle of this incredibly horrific scene, and death won't come anywhere near him.. he won't even be afraid. Why? because he is consistently emerging himself in the refuge of the Lord Most High. Because he is unwilling to fix his eyes anywhere else.
Know this: the Lord's refuge is not always (and rarely will be) a safe bunker away from the battle. No. The Lord's refuge and the place we MUST dwell is usually located right in the middle of a bloody, disease ridden, ugly battle that we have been called to fight in. It's not pretty. It's a battle. The enemy is after your joy. He is desparately jealous of your peace. and more than anything.. he wants you trapped in the illusion that the battle is not a bloody one. That nothing should ever have to be hard. Because I can assure you, we are in the midst of an brawl between good and evil.. it's Love vs. hate. and lucky for us, we have access to God and his Love through Jesus Christ. and we can dwell within him by taking on his identity.. and in faith, deflect the advances of the enemy. we can fight back.. but some of us don't. we don't have to be afraid.. but some of us are. we don't have to die.. but some of us do. We don't always have the clearest perspective of the war that's been waged against us in our earthly lives. If we saw the war for what it is, realizing that if we are not dwelling in the Lord's refuge, then we are inches away from death at any moment, how would we greet the day? How would we respond to bad news? How would we disciple? What would we want the people watching us and learning from us to know?
I think this next passage is possibly the most crucial scripture to search out. we have to figure out what this means.... we have to help other people figure out what it means..
The Whole Armor of God
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints...
I need to live my life dwelling in His refuge, wearing His full armor. If I do, I'll be safe. There is a verse in Exodus that says this: "The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still." I believe with all my heart that this doesn't mean that we don't have fight... i believe it means that we have to learn this: to fight is to figure out how to be still in the shadow of the most high, even when there is a battle raging all around you. We have to learn to be still, quicken our spirits, quiet our souls, and to take heart.
