I’ve been through storms. I’ve felt pain. I’ve been hurt. I’ve asked God “Where are you?” And even though the storm was hard to go through it taught me something. It taught me to trust in Jesus. It taught me to pray. It taught me to stand. With nothing else left but faith just faith. And like the song says “Through it all, Through It all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus. I’ve learned God. Through it all, I have learned to depend on His Word. Guess what? He’s never let me down.

It’s easy to be defined by one moment in life. Some people are defined by a failed relationship, a failed business venture, a divorce even, or even a career ending injury. In the Bible the devil is called the accuser. The accuser would love to convince you that because of that one mistake, because of that one failure and  because of that one season you should begin to look down on yourself .But let me tell you that no matter the mistake you’ve made. God’s plan will still prevail. God’s will still be done. God knew your end from your beginning. He knew all your highs and your lows.  He numbered your good days to exceed your bad days. You might have failed but you are not a failure. You might have had some bad choices but that is not who you are. You might have an issue or two but you are not your issue.

You see the enemy as an accuser will constantly throw negative labels to trying to define you. The accuser will try to define who call you. He will call you things like an addict, a failure, a loser, a dropout but the Word of God calls you redeemed. The word calls you a chosen generation and a royal priesthood. You are washed and made clean by the blood of Jesus.  You are healed by his stripes. You are the head and not the tail. Do not let the devil label you.  He does not determine your destiny. Refuse the labels that other people try to stick on you. Never believe the lies of the accuser. You are not defined by your mistakes but by what God says about you. You are forgiven. You are loved. You are saved by His Amazing Grace. So, move forward because your mistakes are in the past and God is in your future.

Have you ever been involved in a fight? A fight for your job, a physical fight, a fight for your relationship? We have all had to fight at some point and one thing we need to realize is that everyday from the time that we wake up to the time that we sleep we are in a fight. We are involved in a conflict. There is a struggle between good and evil and that struggle is a spiritual battle, and it goes on every day. As we grow older and become more mature Christians, we are called to be equipped with the weapons that God has given us. We were called to put on the whole armor of God. The question I want to ask you is “Have you answered that call? Have you answered the call to put on the whole armor God?”

“People of God!”  The very first thing we must remember in this battle is that we have an unseen enemy. It is not a thief. It is not the nightmare neighbor from hell. It is not the workplace bully. Our unseen enemy could only be revealed in the spiritual realm with the eyes of faith.   The enemy can only be identified through those spiritualize eyes of discernment.  And I want to inspire you today to encourage you and remind you that it is not God’s will for us to be slain by evil.  It is not God’s will for us to be defeated. God doesn’t sit in heaven looking down at you saying “Figure it out my child. You take care of this.” The Lord does not leave us to defend for ourselves.  He will not abandon us but hear me what God really wants us to do is the suit up. He wants us to put on His armor. He wants us to rise up! He wants us to stand up! He wants us to be on the battlefield fighting on His side. There is no middle ground in this warfare. If we do not fight for the Lord, then we are fighting for evil. The question is “Who will you stand for in this battle?”

Many believe fall in this trap of kind of sort of living for God. All that does is leave you lukewarm, but the good news is that God’s judgment has already been passed to the devil. The devil has been judged to suffer eternal damnation. But us as Children of God and Believers in Christ we are destined for victory. We are destined for victory when we make the choice to fight on God’s side and the Lord is not a dictator. He will never force us to stand with Him. He granted us the free will to let us choose between right or wrong and between good and evil. He granted us free will to be a warrior of God or warrior of enemy. What will you choose as soldiers of Christ?

We go into every battle knowing that we are more than conquerors. We have already won! We are the ones that will testify that we are not fallen soldiers but victorious one. Knowing that His truth should ignite a fire in you it should give you enough encouragement to boldly proclaim your faith, to stand, and witness for Christ. Ignite the fire to fight a good fight against the unseen enemy.  Someone may be asking the question “How?” How do we fight an unseen thought? How is it possible to fight an invisible force?

Well, God as our commander and chief has laid down the battle plan for is warriors.  As children of the highest we are called in this battle to be His prayer warriors. We are called to pray without ceasing but have you ever thought why we are praying without ceasing. Some interpret this as repetitive prayer, but it is not it means we have a focus on God with everything that we have. Where is the best discipline of our faith as a prayer warrior everything we love everything were associated with must be covered by prayer. That means our family and loved ones and friends should be under the umbrella of prayer. Even though the highs and lows, the struggles, hardships, milestones, and successes everything that we go through should also be done in prayer. You see going to church, reading the Bible, doing good deeds are necessary for Christian living. But only through the discipline of prayer can we overcome temptations and struggle. Only when we become a prayer warrior can we defeat this unseen enemy that is lurking in the dark trying to deceive us. Only through prayer can we experience God’s power and might. Only then can we experience what it is like to live under the protection of God Almighty. It is only by this display that we can maintain our course and not lose focus on the commands of our King and Lord Jesus Christ .So the next time you find yourself in a fight remember the posture that you need to have. The one that is on your knee surrender and willing for the Lord to have his way. Have we already decided who is side we are on in this battle? Will you stand for the truth? Will you stand like Joshua stood and made a choice saying, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”. It is now or never to make the decision to fight for God. It is now or never to fight on God’s side. Where do You stand?