Awakening of The Warrior Within

“Endure suffering with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.” (2 Timothy 2:3)

I have been talking about coming out of the state of “lukewarmness,” of complacency, of spiritual lethargy that has surrounded us for many years in the American church. For the most part we have not seen ourselves that way. I sure didn’t. This isn’t surprising as Christ Himself said in his message to the Church in Laodicea that “you don’t realize that you have” come to such a sorry state. The Lord is needing warriors in this hour. Not lukewarm followers who are neither hot or cold ready to be spit from his mouth (Revelation 3:16) The good news is for those who belong to Him, who are truly His, HE who is readying us for battle! He is doing this by disciplining and allowing us to change our hearts and reorder our priorities. “I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. (Revelation 3:19)

Before we are awakened, we are largely sidelined from the raging war that has been going on for the souls around us. We have lost touch with the warrior heart of our Commanding Officer. We are like soldiers gone AWOL. When we read our Bibles, we skim over those parts about “suffering.” We harden our hearts towards the things that break His.  We look at the material blessings we may have received as a sign of “God’s favor,” and the lack of major difficulties experienced as a sign that we must be “doing it right.” We are deceived to believe we are living the “abundant life” of “having all this and heaven too!” While, all the time, we never stop to realize that quite possibly by “going with the flow” we are no longer a threat to the enemy. And consequently, he is quite happy just to leave us alone heading down merry way of self-deception. This is a classic case of when Paul warned his fellow warrior Timothy to endure suffering and not get distracted by civilian affairs and then being unable to please the Commanding Officer who has enlisted him. He challenged him to awaken the warrior within when he said, “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline. So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord…” (2 Timothy 1:7-8a)

What is one way this could look like today? In 2020 Colleen and I have moved to Vero Beach, Florida. I call it a “Goldy Locks town.” It is not too big, not too small. It is a beautiful area that is comprised of retirees from the Northeast, refugees from “Blue States,” as well as native Floridians and a good mix of various minority groups. I picked up our town’s weekly newspaper yesterday and began to read a column by an individual who regularly gives his very biased slant on what is happening around our town.

I sighed with a “here we go again” groan and decided to read his latest hit job on Christian conservatives entitled, “Clown-show antics what these ‘Moms’ know best.” He described a confrontation between Moms For Liberty and the local school board. The issue was the group’s opposition to the board’s efforts to teach a slightly re-worded version of Critical Race Theory even after the state of Florida’s Legislature and Governor had banned it from being taught in our public schools. In so doing, Moms For Liberty are simply standing with the state government in reasserting the belief that this ideology is harmful to their children

But listen to what this man writes about the organization and its leader. He mocks her and speaks dismissively of Moms For Liberty writing, “…few of us take seriously any of the concocted culture-war propaganda she and her followers spout from the podium during the School Board’s monthly meetings.” He pours out more vitriol and says, “…her desperate-for-attention fringe group have no real clout in this county, where their agree-with-us-or-else demands and clown-show antics at School Board meetings these past couple of years have reflected poorly on our community.”

From this article I was reminded of the hatred of those who will take a stand for biblical values in defense of our children. They mock, belittle and create the impression that anyone to who will speak out against this county’s left of center School Board is a “fringe group,” not to be taken seriously, spouting off “concocted culture war propaganda” not a part on “our community.” As I saw this young mother’s name maligned in our local paper, I realized that there are courageous Christian warriors today who are willing to stand up and speak for biblical values and suffer the consequences. These are heroes who need to be supported, prayed for, and emulated. They have experienced the “awakening of the warrior within.” And may we all!

 Dear Lord, we are awakened to be warriors not spectators in this battle. Thank you for those whom you are raising up all over this land. Please awaken more and more the warrior YOU have put within us! For as your word says, You “have not given us the spirit of fear but of power, of love and of a sound mind.” In Your Victorious Name, Amen