We Are Warriors

From the moment we tell God we'll live our lives for Him and commit to being living sacrifices (Romans 12:1), we are part of an army, a collection of warriors. We battle for the Lord and with one another, but on occasion, we battle against one another. Underneath our full armor of God, our flesh engages to take over, be heard, wrest control. 

We encounter situations with our brothers and sisters in Christ that hurt us, anger us, wound us. In response we lash out, waging war against one of our own. The enemy loves nothing more than when we complete his  mission for him and slaughter each other. 

When I'm hurt by a Christian, I'm more angry than when I'm hurt by someone who doesn't know the Lord. My heart says, "they know better..." and the wound is that much deeper. My flesh takes over and my emotions go into overdrive. Instead of raising my sword to fight the enemy, I raise it in defense of myself and against my sister or brother in Christ. 

Sometimes I simply walk away, listing all the areas where the other person fell short. I remind myself why they did the thing that hurt and in the process I join the accuser in listing their flaws. Sometimes I believe the enemy gives me revelations about others. Like the Lord does, but not in a way to be honoring. Instead, the purpose is for me to side with the enemy as I stand before God and rail against the person who has fallen short and hurt me. Whether I realize it or not, I'm strengthening the enemy's attack against the other person and against me. 

Sometimes the pain when someone wrongs me is righteous and expected. Sometimes the other person is in the wrong. But that doesn't change my job and my responsibility as a believer. My marching orders are the same whether or not I've been wrongfully wounded by a fellow soldier. Moreso, my responsibility becomes fighting for the one who has fallen, the one who has wounded me. I don't have the luxury of giving up, giving in, and walking away. Not before God. My job isn't to nurse my wounds, but to go before the throne on that person's behalf. My commission is to interceded for them, lift them up before the Lord, and fight for them when they're down. If I'm too busy band-aiding my flesh wound while they are bleeding out, I've allowed the enemy to have his way with them. See, that crafty enemy we fight, he knows the best way to get us to tear a fellow believer down is by making their sins personal. Forgiving someone who disappoints us is far easier than forgiving someone who cuts us deeply. We become consumed with our injury and forget the true enemy. We link arms with the devil and go to war with him in an attempt to seek justice. We forget that the Lord defines true justice and tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). 

No, this isn't easy. In fact, it goes against every fiber of our flesh. In an every-man-for-himself culture, fighting FOR the one who wounded us is counterintuitive, but God so often works in ways that are outside of man's ways. 

As warriors, we don't give up. We press in. 

We go before the Lord and beg His intervention. We plead for eyes to see the other person the way the Lord does. We petition for the enemy's assignment to be lifted from the one who hurt us. And we pray for a pure heart, acknowledging our short-comings and flaws. It's not easy, but it is the way of the Lord. Only then will true justice prevail and hearts be mended. 

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