3 Encouraging Keys From the Trenches of Spiritual Warfare
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Have you found yourself in the middle of intense spiritual warfare lately?
If so, you’re not alone. We all fight our way through various kinds of spiritual warfare every day. However, it’s always good to be encouraged when you’re in the thick of things. 🙂
So today, I wanted to share three encouraging keys from the trenches of spiritual warfare. I pray these three encouraging keys about spiritual warfare will hopefully be timely for you.
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Here are the keys you should know:
1. Spiritual warfare only happens over things, people, and situations worth fighting for.
No enemy ever tried to steal a prize not worth having. In the same way, when we find ourselves contending for anything in our lives, we can be assured that the thing we contend for is worth the fight.
And you win the battle by utterly abandoning yourself to God.
For example:
Are you contending for purity in your life?
Purity is worth it. Throw yourself into the Word with everything you’ve got, so God can keep you from sinning (Psalm 119). I mean GIVE yourself to it completely, with utter, reckless abandon. Having clean hands and a pure heart is worth it.
Are you contending for your destiny?
You must have an awesome destiny. The enemy wouldn’t try to steal your destiny if you have no worth to the Kingdom of God. Pray, pray, and pray some more. Trust God to fight your battles for you, and He will.
Are you contending for your family?
Your family is worth it. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God in every way, and trust God to lift you up in due time. Trust Him to take care of your family as you pray and seek Him.
The mere fact that warfare exists means you have a prize worth fighting for. So stand, soldier, and stand some more.
Related: An Encouraging Word For Intercessors: Make Like a Fire Horse and Stand
2. The worst warfare happens before the biggest breakthroughs.
Do you feel like your skin is getting burned off from the heat of the battle? Have you been fighting so long and gotten so tired that you feel you can’t hold on any longer? Does it feel like all hope is lost and victory will never happen?
If so, stand firm, beloved. Victory is just around the corner.
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In spiritual warfare, the battle gets fiercest when the enemy sees God bringing breakthrough just around the corner. So the enemy pulls out all stops to try to keep breakthrough from happening.
But you know what? First John 4:4 says:
“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
Greater is He Who is in us than he who is in the world. Every time.
And if you will submit to God and obey Him, God will bring your breakthrough every time. He will work all things for your good. That means if it isn’t good yet, it isn’t over yet.
And God is fully able. He has all power in Heaven and on earth. He is your Warrior, and you can trust Him to get your breakthrough to you. Every time.
Isaiah 66:9 tells us:
“Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the Lord. “Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God.”
God will bring you your breakthrough.
God is not a man, that He should lie. His Word is truth, and He will always keep His promises to you. YOU just stay firm. Keep standing. Keep using the weapons of your warfare (which are not earthly and fleshly, but are mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds). Weapons such as:
- Prayer;
- Obeying God;
- Humbling yourself;
- Fasting;
- Declaring God’s Word over people and situations; and
- Seeking God with everything you’ve got.
And He will come through for you. Breakthrough is assured.
And if you feel like it’s your darkest hour, precious friend, VICTORY IS NEAR.
So stand firm.
3. Warfare is easier when you decide how you’re going to feel, rather than letting your feelings dictate your decisions.
It’s total fallacy to think that your decisions have to be based on your feelings. They don’t. The reverse is actually true: YOU decide how you’re going to feel, and you make that decision by deciding what truth you’re going to believe.
- If you choose to believe that God is working your situation out for your good, then you’ll have peace.
- If you choose to believe that you are accepted in Christ Jesus, then you’ll have harmony and fellowship with people.
- If you choose to believe that God’s Word is true and NOTHING SHALL BY ANY MEANS HURT YOU (Luke 10:19), you’ll go forward with confidence in any situation.
The truth YOU choose to embrace dictates your feelings.
No matter what happens, God is in control and He is perfecting all things that concern you. He is taking care of you and working things out for your good if you love Him. But, you have to embrace the truth of His Word when you’re going through the valley.
This is important:
When you’re fighting through any situation, you can choose what to believe.
You can choose to believe the truth of God’s Word, or you can choose to believe lies. Please, please, literally for the love of God, PLEASE choose to believe the truth of God’s Word! Believing God’s Word is the ONLY way to victory.
If you’re new at this and it feels too hard, let me assure you: the commands of God are not too hard (Deuteronomy 30:11).
But would you like some practical tips to make it easier? Here they are:
Giving thanks to God is key.
If you’re feeling low, start thanking God for everything you can think of, and keep giving thanks all day:
- Thank Him for being with you.
- Thank Him for His hand at work in your situation.
- Thank Him for the breath in your lungs.
- Tell Him “thank You” for the fact that His specific promises over your situation are true, and that you know He will keep His promises to you.
- Thank Him for your easy morning commute.
- Thank Him for the traffic jam you’re sitting in.
- Thank Him for His victory over your situation and thank Him for showing Himself faithful even while you still face the battle.
Just thank Him. Giving thanks will do wonders for your attitude in every situation, every time.
Also, and most importantly, soak your mind, emotions, heart, and spirit in the Word of God.
The Word of God has gotten me through the darkest times of my life. And actually, in the darkest of those times that I’ve ever experienced, God told me WHY He allowed me to go through what I was going through:
“So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3).
We as Christians MUST come to depend on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. The words that Jesus speaks are spirit, and they are life (John 6:63). God knows that His Word is best for us, so He gives us all the opportunity we require to learn to live by His Word.
So don’t be like Saul and kick against God’s instruction, ok? Soak in His Word. Learn to live not by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
And as you saturate yourself with God’s Word every day, His Truth will become part of you.
God’s Word will literally change the very fiber of your being, and you will begin to believe His Word. You will decide to embrace His truth, and His truth will dictate your feelings… meaning you’ll have peace, joy, love, and all the other fruit of the Spirit.
Those are the three keys to spiritual warfare that I felt led to share with you today. No matter what battle you’re fighting, my friend, keep your eye on the prize. Stand on God’s side. Stand firm on His Word.
And God will sustain you and bring you victory every time.
Does this message encourage you today? Please leave a comment below if so. I’d love to hear from you!
Image courtesy of Thomas Quine on Flickr via Creative Commons license. Image has been cropped and graphics added.
Thank you Jamie for being a true and faithful servant, and please know that this message is for me from God and on time! The Lord of all Creation promises to abide with us when we choose to walk His Way of Agape.
Hi Florence,
I’m so sorry it has taken me so long to get back with you. I just got my computer back working yesterday afternoon! Anyway, thank you for reading, and I thank God for encouraging you. Whatever you’re fighting, hang in there, ok? PAPA’s gonna work it out!!! And yes, He will stick with you the ENTIRE time! Praising God with you. 🙂
I needed this! But I’m not sure what saturate myself in God’s word means … (sorry, I’m new) … I read the verses people tell me to read, and I try to pray before I open up the bible, asking God to help me understand what he wants me to know. But when I open up the bible, I open to a verse but don’t really understand what I’m reading.
Hi Kimberlyn! “To saturate yourself in God’s Word” means to read the Bible, which is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God, really slowly, and think about each verse or phrase as you read it. And to read it often, often, often… even if you’re only reading small portions at first.
The point is just to get God’s Word inside of you, just as if it were actual food. Because it is; it is food for your spirit! Jesus said in John 6:63: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” That means God’s Word is actually the thing that keeps you alive. It propels you and sustains you and strengthens you and encourages you. Hebrews 1:3 tells us that Jesus actually upholds and propels the universe with only His words. 🙂 Cool, huh?
So when you read the Bible, and chew on it, and think about it, and ruminate on what it says… it is actually food, and life, and it will renew and refresh and restore your heart, mind, will, emotions, and spirit. The books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the best place to start since you will meet Jesus there. The Psalms are also great because you can always find one that describes just how you feel. 🙂
Does this make sense?
Thanks once again for your encouraging word! Feeling very discouraged today, like breakthrough in my job is never going to come! I am so blessed in so many other areas of my life I feel ashamed to complain. Your blog says exactly what the Holy spirit says I’ve been lacking! His fruit! Hope deferred makes the heart sick. And I feel sick & tired of being sick & tired! On day 5 of my 21 day fast I got sick and actually had bronchitis & missed a week of work last week. I’m never sick & I’ve never been so sick in my adult life either. When I went back to work it’s like bedlam there ( I work at a Hospice ) the patients are so sick & we are on critical staffing because we are short staffed.
I’m trying to see through His eyes but it is so hard & I’m so weary. I need a Big infusion of Him & I don’t know where to get it. I’ve already had our vacation the 1st of June. Work has been like this since I’ve been back. Thank you for letting me have an opportunity to vent!
Your blogs are sometimes what get me through!
Hi Tami, thank you so much for sharing. I’m sorry you’re going through this tough time, but I pray that God would help you know the power of His resurrection since you have also shared the fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians 3:10). Hang in there. I prayed for you and I know PAPA God will come through. May He show Himself to you this very day as your glory and the Lifter of your head (Psalm 3:3), and give you wisdom so that you’ll know what to do about your situation.
Thank you, as always, for reading and for sharing! I hope you enjoy your weekend. 🙂
Thank you 1000 times for your wonderful message. I need such deep words to fight against illness. I read your blog with much interest, it is a real help for me.
Christelle, thank you so much for reading and for sharing. I pray that Jesus Christ, our Healer, would overwhelm your body right now with His healing power and make you whole.
Thank you for your sweet encouragement too!
Have a wonderful day!
Dear Jamie, I’ve only started following your blog recently, but so many of your posts touch directly on where I’m at right now, it’s deeply encouraging. I’m in the fiercest battle I’ve ever experienced, contending for my daughter’s life and healing and hopeful future, in the daily grind of caring for her many medical needs and all evidence to the contrary of a good outcome.
I was wondering, could you explain a bit more about humbling ourselves before God? I keep reflecting on that, but I struggle to visualise what it looks like in practice. Maybe I’m already doing it some of the time? I’m not sure. Is it an attitude I can cultivate more of?
Hi Amy! What a great question. Thanks so much for reading and for asking. 🙂 Yes, humbling yourself before God basically looks like spending time with Him, hearing what He says, and doing what He says. You learn to depend on Him completely for everything. To humble yourself before God, you read His Word, the Bible, and learn what He is like… and then seek to act like He acts in every situation.
It doesn’t have to be a list of rules, either. It all flows out of intimacy with God. The commands that He gives us are not too hard, and it’s easy to obey them when we put first things first. The first thing is just to get to know Him and enjoy the pleasure of His company, just like you would get to know your best friend. Then, as you fall in love with Him, it becomes easy to obey Him because you want so much to be like Him and warm His heart with your loyalty.
Does this make sense?
Thanks Jamie, that’s really helpful x
Awesome! 🙂 Have a great day!
Hi Jamie,
I really needed to get encouragement today and going to your blog I knew God would have a word for me. I am going through a very hard spiritual fight, it seems like the enemy first stole my joy (of course) I felt tired and it’s been a battle inside me, since a few days ago due to a situation I’ve been considering divorce and today my teenage daughter cried because I hurt her feelings and I know I did but I didn’t mean to I was only trying to give motherly advice except I said it in the wrong tone and with the wrong words and I know it was because of the situation with my husband. I’ve been feeling like the Lord is calling me to stand back up and be the spiritual warriors I once was and today I understood that He is allowing these situations because I might be willing to give up on husband, maybe even on myself OH! but not not my children. And as I drove around in my car earlier crying my eyes out all by myself I decided to stand firm and fight and that’s exactly what I did I then I prayed and thanked God. But to be honest deep inside me I still wondered if my marriage was worth the fight… this post opened my eyes. Thank You, thank you for being obedient to His call and ministering to us here. Blessings!
Mary…
I beg you from the bottom of my heart! Please please continue to pray before you making that decision! I prayed for God to show me if my marriage was worth fighting for! I got what i thought was the sign to fight … but just 3 days later my husband decided to divorce me! 🙁 he’s already moved out & filed! I don’t want my marriage to end … we have 2 beautiful daughter’s together & he’s raised my 2 son’s & another daughter!! I miss him … i cry everyday … i pray for the restoration of my & every marriage everyday! Try to remember why you married him! Try! Please Mary!
Kimberlyn, I’m sorry you’re going through this. I know we’ve emailed, but just wanted to let you know, I prayed for you today. May Daddy God wrap His arms around you too, dear sister, and may you find peace in the warmth of His embrace.
Thank you Jamie! I always smile hugely when i learn someone’s praying /prayed for me! Thank you! GOD BLESS YOU!
Hi Mary,
Thank you so much for reading and sharing. I’m sorry you’re going through this. But I want you to know that Daddy God KNOWS. He knows your pain. He knows how much you’re hurting. And He cares. He has a plan to heal and restore your life. And yes, your marriage is worth the fight. Hang in there, sister. And throw yourself daily, hourly, moment by moment on the feet of Jesus. He WILL sustain you.
Papa loves you, dear sister, and I pray that He would comfort you and strengthen you during this time. May He give you the spirit Caleb had, who went out and conquered mountains full of giants in the strength of the Lord.
Blessings to you today.
In Christ,
Jamie
Hi Jamie,
I’ve really enjoyed reading quite a few of ur articles actually & this one was no different. I’m actually having a little different problem I was wondering if you could help me with. In my Christian walk I’m having a huge problem with my bipolar lows hindering my positive thinking. I know I can’t help it & I pray about it but boy the devil really beats me up. Any suggestions on this topic would be appreciated. God Bless. Glena
Hi Glena, the best thing I can encourage you to do about this is to devour the Word of God. Eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and ask God to heal you and keep you steady. I’d also encourage you to look up Neil Anderson’s Steps to Freedom program and go through the Seven Steps if you haven’t already done so. (You can even take yourself through, with the books.) God used the Seven Steps powerfully in my life to set me free from a lot of emotional pain. One of the best things I ever did.
Thanks so much for reading. I pray God would encourage you, strengthen you, and bless you abundantly today with many good and perfect gifts. 🙂
Hi Jaime,
I have recently graduated from nursing school which was by no means easy. The last few weeks before completing my nursing school program I began to have severe anxiety/depression which seemed to come out of nowhere. There were countless nights where I could not sleep and felt terrible. I am still struggling with my anxiety and depression today…. It just does not want to go and made the last few weeks of school miserable and I was terrified I was not going to pass. Sometimes I get super frustrated and really down. I continue to remind myself of the positives happening in my life and all around me and I know that I am beyond blessed with everything God has given me. All I want to do is help others and live for God and this can sometimes seem so challenging and frustrating all at the same time with this anxiety/depression. I feel like it is a huge roadblock in my life and I so desperately want to overcome it. I am trying to keep the faith and trust God on all of this. My family is super supportive and loving but I know this is wearing on them as well. I found your blog to be very helpful and if you could keep me in your prayers that would be awesome 🙂
Thank you so much and God Bless!
-T
Lord I just want to thank you for who you are to me. And not for only what you have done, but for what your going to do. I give my life to you lord and I pray you guide me and lead me to the path of righteousness!
Lord we need you now! For we can’t fight this battle alone, we’re trusting that you will step in and break every strong hold that maybe up on us, we pray that everything meant for my bad you reverse is for my good!
Lord my family and happiness it everything to me and I just ask that yu keep us covered from all harm, and to destroy any wrong doin or badly sent spirits(Move them down to the pits oh hell)
In Jesus holy name I pray! amen!!! ??
Praise the Lord Jamie.
Thank you for your encouraging words. I am a prayer warrior in one group. I’ve not been through any major attacks. But I bless you for your time and encouraging words.
Thank
Sheron
Timely word thank you
Hi Jamie, This message has touched my heart and my life in a mighty way. God is using me right now. I am in a HUGE spiritual warfare in my life right now. The enemy is attacking me at every angel but I am praising Papa in advance for my breakthrough because I know only Holy Spirit will bring me through this warfare. My finances, my children , my health, my mother’s health is all under attack. But I know that Holy Spirit is in control and is healing my mother, by the grace of Father God she got to go home from the hospital today from pneumonia. The doctors are sure she will fully recover. I am dealing with severe pain and arthritis, I cannot get a doctor that will help me with my injuries but I’m seeing one on Wednesday (since I was too late to see him on Monday). They were able to get me in this week. Praise the Lord. My finances were comfortable because I’m disabled and I had a small savings from an automobile accident that’s when I sent you a seed offering, but the enemy has come through and took all my savings away. now I have nothing left. I’m struggling to buy food for my daughter and myself, My son was making a lot of money, now he is down to making bare minimum. HIs tax returns has not come yet and should have been here a long time ago. My oldest daughter is having financial trouble but she was blessed with getting into the EMT course that she has always wanted to be in and she will have a guaranteed job with the County EMS. I feel the breakthrough about to happen but my depression is getting the better of me. I recently cracked my rib and I’m in more pain but i know trouble will only last for a short time because I’m believing Holy Spirit for my breakthrough. Thank you for all your wonderful messages and webinars. I truly enjoy them. I met a lady at the doctor’s office and I gave her your information because we were talking about the Lord and how good He is and I wanted her to listen to your ministry because you have touched my life so much. Again Thank you and continue to be a blessing in our lives and we will pray for your ministry and you as well. With love,
Thank-you,Jamie! we are having a hard time ,this bad neighbor I told you about bullies, intimidates daily, he even shots a rife daily thinking he is being a warrior, jerk, we have been around target practices before ,just daily it is overwhelming, an never has that family showed respect for others, he has been to jail I think, it is hard to feel peace when they spy on you daily also, these things are 7 days a week.
Thank you for this word! Deuteronomy 8:3; needed to hear that verse.
Hello Jamie
Thanks for the encouraging Words. As always they are helpful in the time of hard situation and circumstances. I have a daughter that is trying to get out of a bad marriage. She have 3 kids, ages 11, 8, and 6. I have been Praying for God to help me get through this situation. And the surprising thing is everyone is telling me it’s a process and offering little or no help. It is so sad, unbelievable. Will you Pray for her and her kids, Especially me. So this is why your encouraging words are so important to me and my family. They are Life Saving. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you and God Bless you!
Thanks so much for your words of encouragement.
Thank you Amen 🙏🏼