A confident warrior

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Ephesians 6:13

We don’t like wars. Regardless of whether we like it or not. there is a universal war happening right now between two opposing kingdoms. You and I are by default involved in this warfare, not some special groups of ministers or evangelists, but we are all involved. As the Bible clearly states, spiritual warfare is not a myth or up for debate; our adversary is not flesh and blood, but spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies. (Ephesians 6:12)

Since many Christians are not aware of spiritual warfare and our given authority, we may not receive the proper training and mindset to stand firm as instructed in the key verse today. Studying about the military and learning about combat mindset is quite interesting, because a highly trained soldier is not just physically prepared, but mentally tough as well, comprising tenacity, resilience, calmness and confidence as a result of rigorous training, such as bootcamps, programs that require a lot of discomfort and pain.

The harsh training is not meant to cripple us, but to build our confidence to be a mighty warrior for God's kingdom. Cowardice will lead us to defeat in battle, so how do we build confidence by “standing firm ”?

We stand firm because we have confidence in our almighty God, who has never lost a battle. In addition, we are confident in God's team, which is an orderly and organized teamwork, as no soldier would fight alone, as military teams emphasize cohesion and trust, and believers should work together to develop strong bonds of trust and mutual reliance. Therefore, when we place our confidence in our almighty God and receive support from other believers, we exercise and train our spiritual muscles and develop confidence. 

Godly confidence replaces fear. It is the Holy Spirit who ignites our warrior spirit which gives us confidence when He reminds us, “Be strong and do not fear ”. A highly trained soldier does not lose control and react under pressure, but maintains calmness and confidence with a focused and clear understanding of warfare during battle.

We can stand firm with confidence in all the battles because of our identity as children of God. God's love casts out all fear, thus we can triumph over the enemy!

Blessing prayer: May the Lord strengthen our feeble arms and knees so we can stand firm in the midst of warfare. The Lord has never lost a battle and we put our trust in Him. In Jesus' name, Amen