Battle Scars

With every decision me make, we choose to be a victim or a conqueror of our circumstances. We have to make a choice.

I am willing to bet that every one of you reading this, has had at least one horrible horrendous thing happen to you. Either by accident or at the hands of someone else. None of us will come out of life unscathed. We all have wounds and scars, emotional or physical, and most of us have both.

When we deal with our wounds, we are put in a position to decide how to handle them. Should we sit and repeatedly pick at our scabs, not allowing those painful areas to heal? This just constantly reminds us of the pain and causes it to fester insidiously. Doing this can cause a horrible and tragic outcome. It can take a surface injury, way down deep into our very core. Bacteria can be introduced into the bloodstream, affecting the whole body and can kill us.

Emotional and physical wounds, are exactly the same when it comes to our soul. Picking at emotional wounds, tears them open, and reminds us of pain and anger and sadness. It also introduces negative thoughts and tendencies that like bacteria, can do serious damage in our lives. We end up so focused on the wounds we’ve already sustained, that we can’t focus on our future either.

When you are wounded on a battlefield, there is no time to sit and inspect your injuries. If your focus is so much on what’s already taken place, you are not ready to fight what’s next. You can be so focused on a non lethal wound, to the degree that you don’t even notice the sword of the enemy raised above your head ready to strike. That is when we become a victim. When we stop fighting.

The devil is a jerk. He whispers hopelessness and distraction to us in a continual and grating way. He doesn’t have to convert you to his army. He just has to get you to stop fighting long enough to take you prisoner. There he keeps us in a state of spiritual hopelessness, making us forget that we have the very tools at our fingertips to call for help. All we ever have to do is activate our honing beacon and send out a Mayday to God.

When we trust God, we can go through horrendous battles and still have this resilience that isn’t there without Him.

2 Corinthians 4:8-17

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

We also have a promise, that our wounds and this suffering isn’t all for nought:

2nd Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

God can help us make something beautiful out of it. Every diamond was once a piece of coal with incredible pressure applied to it for long periods of time. Every bit of shining gold has to go through intense fire for refining. Every pearl, was once the bane of a clam’s existence. See where I’m going with this? Every victor, was once a scared soldier with courage.

It is no accident that God tells us to put on the full armor of God.

Ephesians 6: 11-17 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Warriors…conquerors, prepare themselves for battle. They put themselves in a place in their mind, to be ready to fight for their lives. They strap on each bit of armor carefully making sure that everything is secured and in good working order. If something needs to be fixed or tweaked from the last battle, they are diligent to fix it now.  They take into account, past failures, injuries, and losses and they plan for how to better navigate them for the next fight.

My husband is a SWAT team member. I have watched him prepare for a dangerous call. I have seen him go into a zone of concentration and move through his mental checklist. He has a look on his face that I see no other time. It gives me chills every time I see it. It’s the face of a warrior. He has a healthy fear and anxiety about the danger he is about to face, but his feet are shod with preparation and courage. Courage burns like a fire behind his eyes. Courage is the very trait that separates victims from warriors. The ability to face danger in spite of fear.

Jesus was not victim to the human race. He didn’t die in a state of helplessness. He had every power to call on legions of angels and avoid the terrible torture he endured. He didn’t though. He was a warrior. He faced death with grace and courage. What may have looked like a poor innocent man’s murder, was actually Jesus conquering a battle against spiritual death that we didn’t understand. He was a warrior against evil. He beat the devil. He was the victor and he freed his people from damnation in that epic history altering battle. He rose 3 days later, sealing His victory.

Being a warrior, is the only way to become a conqueror. It’s a mindset that can carry us to victory time and time again. It’s the knowledge that we have the power in our mind to determine whether we give up or keep fighting. It’s the difference between sitting and picking at a wound and giving into it, or putting into place the healing mechanisms our wounds need to heal. It’s properly dressing our wounds so that they become the scars of battles won, and not the wounds of a battle lost.

We all have every excuse to become victims. We’ve been hurt. Someone else’s hate or negligence being a cause of our wounds. We all have some circumstance that could be our downfall. There is always someone we can blame for a ruined life. We are the only one who can look at these things, and decide whether to become a victim or a victor. We are the only one who can decide if our life is ruined or not. No one holds that power but us. We may have a grave opposition, but it’s up to us to decide if we will rise up and make something positive out of our struggles.

Every amazing figure in history, has overcome terrible odds. They aren’t amazing without the terrible odds. Nothing would have forced them to rise above, if there wasn’t seemingly insurmountable opposition against them. Their courage and ability to persevere, is what makes them victors.

David went up against Goliath. He could have quit before the battle even began and no one would have blamed him. He was out manned, out gunned, and had the threat of a flea. Goliath wasn’t scared. He probably thought he would smash him like a bug and drop kick his flea sized booty.  Little did Goliath know, that God was on Davids side. That flea, had the powers of heaven behind it. God didn’t need to flex his muscle against Goliath with a huge army and impressive artillery. God demonstrated for us through this battle, that all we really need is trust in Him, faith that He is enough, and courage that He is leading us to victory.

All spiritual battle is to the death. God has given us the right armor, battle plan, and leadership.  He has prepared us to fight for righteousness to the death. Our king will go down in all history, as the greatest there ever was. Jesus, king of kings.

Every battle you face, can be the one that does you in or the one that crowns you a victor. Every scar can be a reminder of something we lost or it can be the next great proof of a victory won in battle.

Romans 8:37

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Okay, I love you guys. Huddle over. Let’s get out there and conquer!