Until I was 15, I was a docile wallflower.
Picture me as the classic middle child, shrinking behind the success of my older sister and the sweetness of my younger one. I didn’t make excellent grades or terrible ones. I didn’t have hobbies but also didn’t pitch any fits. I never picked a fight and usually did everything I could to avoid being corrected or called to account.
And then everything changed.
At age 15, I became known as the family member most likely to start hard conversations. I began asking intense and thoughtful questions that demanded answers or serious consideration.
Provocation and challenge became my favorite tools for engaging with others.
What was the shift?
At 15, I met Jesus. I walked down the aisle at a church event and prayed some honest words to the God I had genuinely believed in but had yet to put my trust in. And everything immediately changed, as if the tiny, invisible strings that held my mild personality in place were cut, and I was set free to be the fighter God made me to be.
It seemed to me that if He was real, if all His words were true, there was so much at stake to be contended, defended and obtained.
So here are the serious questions: Who are we fighting? Who or what are we fighting for? And … are you up for a fight?
I’ve settled on the truth that I’m fighting the enemy of my soul, not other humans, and I want to be fighting for the good of others and God’s glory.
The most recent battle I’ve been engaging in on behalf of myself and my sisters in Christ is in the area of body shame. I know that our enemy has come to steal, kill and destroy, (John 10:10) but this passage from 2 Corinthians gives me so much encouragement about our capacity to fight in the name of Jesus.
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)
Our weapons — the Word of God and worship — have the power to demolish the arguments that set themselves up against God’s knowledge. In this case, God's knowledge is that He made our bodies good, loves them and purchased our freedom on the cross of Christ.
And our opportunity is to walk into the combat with full confirmation that our side wins.
Whatever your current battle is, here’s an important reminder:
You were born for a fight — but know your enemy. Remember that the warfare might look more like worship than yelling, and always hold fast to the truth that the contest is over — Jesus wins in the end. Amen?
Father, help me to fight in a holy way — against the enemy and not people. Give me courage and faith to believe that You win. It’s my honor to engage in spiritual battle for my good and Your glory. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
