So I was thinking that I like to think. I would call myself a deep thinker. Laundry, it never ends. Every weekend after a full week of work, there it sits in its unclean glory, begging to be put into a washer and gently dried with a drier sheet (that I might add). Wow, a thought about life crossed my mind one day as I stared at a mountain of dirty clothes: This reality now, that we call life, is full of monotonous chores that seem to never end. Some of us might just be sitting, wondering if this is what life is all about─the never ending laundry curse. Well, I am here to tell you, that over the horizon of your stinking clothes, is the answer to that gnawing question.
What if I told you that this reality we are currently living in is the setting to the most epic battle mankind has ever seen? I know for myself and most men, we have a burning desire to fight in some heroic battle, to overcome evil and stand as conquerors over the fallen enemy. We want to walk into glory with everyone rejoicing with us in victory. The only part we forget to comprehend is the hardship of battle. The hero can’t stand victorious if the troubles of war have not been met head on. The suffering, adversity, courage, and perseverance are what have allowed the soldier his honor.
It’s no coincidence that we see movies or video games where the entertained party gets to embark on the journey of warrior. The saga of good versus evil, where the enemy is crushed while your home team stands triumphant. Mankind instinctively has this warrior spirit. Why do we have this soldier’s spirit? I think it has a much deeper meaning than the bloodbath, that is, war. The war we are battling 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 realms (Ephesians 6:10-18).
Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier for Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer (2 Timothy 2:3).
The Scriptures make it very clear that we are on some battleground of sorts, furthermore we see the apostle Paul telling us to put on the armor of God for protection. Well what do we need to be protected from? The battleground of sin and temptation; sin is the enemy of our God. Temptation is the mechanism the evil one uses to get us entangled in the perversion of sin. Then mankind also has the impossible task of sorting through all the lies of the world. If you have the truth I would advise you to thank God right now, because that’s a real miracle. 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 10:5).
Where does temptation and sin start? It starts in the mind, which is why Paul is telling the Corinthians to take captive their thoughts. Before I knew Christ and realized I was held accountable for my thoughts, I was on autopilot. Now most of the time I find myself disagreeing with my thoughts and desires, and sometimes screaming in my head for God to not hold me accountable for the craziness that flies through.
What the Scriptures are painting to the reader and the student of our Lord Jesus is that we most definitely, are in a battle. This battle is for our very soul, our eternal resting place. It’s for our very own quality of life in eternity. I am not going to go through a lengthy process of telling you how to not sin indefinitely. Shoot, I myself haven’t figured that out, but I will try and portray reality so that it will become easier to make the right decision when temptation comes.
Every time you have a chance to sin, every time you have a chance to speak, truth, you are taking up your sword for battle against the enemy. Make no mistake, the enemy is standing at the door and ready to devour. We all face certain sins like a ball in chain, but this dead weight doesn’t even exist when we seek the kingdom of heaven first.
The Lord told us to seek the kingdom of heaven. Moreover, if Christ is in you then you my friend, are royalty. Your reality is a battle-hardened soldier for Christ fighting the exact expression of evil. That evil is staring at you, it’s studying you, it’s tempting you, and it hates you trying to devise its plan of your destruction along with anyone you encounter.
The very clash for your soul is inside your mind, and down the slippery slope of the heart. God has called us into combat against the enemy, but He tells us to, “Fear not.” For if God is for us who can be against us? So as each of us embark on the battlefront of the world, we as soldiers will have our day of rejoicing (Isaiah 41:10; Romans 8:31).
This heavenly encounter is very much my opinion, but this is just the way I think it could happen, if we stand against the devil’s schemes through daily repentance and are cleansed of our unrighteousness through Christ:
We will walk before our Lord Jesus, and He will acknowledge us before the Father, and millions and millions of angels.
“But will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels” (Revelation 3:5)
“Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders” (Revelation 5:11).
Imagine for a second the possibilities of this encounter, the unimaginable size of this room. One hundred million angels staring at you, Jesus and the Father saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Millions of angels pointing at you whispering, “They are the ones who faced battle daily. They are the ones who have shed countless tears, tasted rejection and death, felt with every nerve ending what physical pain is, watched loved ones decay and die, and daily fought the enemy called, Satan.”
Right now as you read this you are behind enemy lines, so I am telling you that God Himself is telling you to pick up your sword called the Word of God. Put on your armor; dig yourself a foxhole, because we have a position to hold. The enemy has broken through. We are surrounded, but we, as Christ’s disciples know that Jesus has all the enemy positions laser designated.
You can hold your position at work, in your family and with your friends. You can gain territory and soldiers for Christ, if you act boldly and fearlessly for our God, who He Himself has provided all the equipment we need. In all reality that recognition we all crave, that sensation our souls are starving for. Our entire point of existence will be in that moment when we stand before God and His angels.
Think about it, you are standing there, your eyes wide open, all the angels just peering at you. Jesus Himself says, “Here are my Father and His angels.” And you, my friend, will be standing there with your thousand yard stare earned in battle just completely floored that you managed to escape the clutches of the enemy to witness the glory of God.
Please understand you are right now in that epic battle. The next time you hear that temptation calling, pull up your shield of faith to extinguish all of the flaming arrows. Put on your helmet of salvation and stand tall because you have a big audience in heaven cheering you on.
Our God knows the battles we have faced, He knows the pains we have experienced. God Himself, if He didn’t already know that we are going to make it home, might be surprised how we just keep getting back up from the pain and constant loss of this life. But please understand the army must stay intact. Our Lord is pointing at other people who are held as prisoners of sin and by the lies of the enemy.
The Lord is calling us to be that rescue mission for the lost, we have to train-up in the Word, gear up in faith, we have to take courage and make one last push to free the captives. Make no mistake: If we don’t board the helicopters and fly in as Medevac, those people will die in their sin.
To die in sin is certain death. Just contemplate on hell and eternity for a minute. If you have been in hell for over ten-thousand-years, you will still not have one less second to spend there. Now maybe you yourself are okay, and maybe it feels safe to stay back at the headquarters of salvation where there isn’t much enemy fire, but don’t forget you are serving the most decorated God and military outfit in all of history and we as Christians leave no man behind. (Revelation 14:11, Isaiah 34:10)
Blessings
Don McReynolds