We are in a spiritual battle. We can’t avoid it but we can win it.
I am indebted to Patrice Tsague who refined this list of steps we can take to have victory in the conflict at hand.
Are you ready to fight? We will deal with all of the steps in this list in more detail in the coming weeks and months. Today, we will just give a cursory look at the list and start our investigation.
If we are to win the war for our businesses and our souls, we must be ready to:
- Claim our identity in Christ – Two of the most important questions we can ever answer are “Who are you?” and “Whose are you?” The answers to those two questions will determine how and where we make our stand and the reasons we give ourselves for being confident in the middle of trying times.
- Be prepared for the trials and tests in the marketplace – The Bible reminds us, “don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.” (I Peter 4:12) In other words, trials are not that unusual; we all go through them. They are not a reason to give up, they are an occasion for faith and battle.
- Know the three tactics of the enemy: lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and the pride of life – There are three things Satan loves to use to trip us up. Certainly they are not the only things but they are some big ones: our illicit sensual desires that distract us, those bright shiny objects that others have that we enviously wish were ours, and our over-confidence in ourselves, our abilities and how smart we think we are. These are the internal saboteurs that our enemy uses to undermine us from within.
- Be committed to prayer since our fight is not against people but principalities, powers, rulers in the dark world, and spiritual wickedness in high places – How devoted are we to the discipline of prayer? Prayer keeps us close and intimate with God so we can hear His heart and heed His warnings. Prayer brings spiritual discernment and protection against attack.
- Put on the whole armor of God - Study Ephesians 6:10-18 to discover how to both defend your heart and mind from attack and how to move offensively against the enemy of our soul.
- Be wise as serpents and gentle as doves – Sometimes, as entrepreneurs, it is vital that we have, not street smarts, but kingdom smarts. In fact, many translations call us to be as “shrewd” as snakes; exercising discernment, knowing when we are being taken advantage of, and understanding how to get the best deal possible for all concerned. On the other hand, being gentle as doves means that we, at the same time, love people, look out for all the stakeholders, and are careful not to hurt others with our words or actions.
- Be committed to unity and oneness with other believers – If Satan can not defeat us directly, he will use others, and sometimes, the “others” are brothers and sisters in the faith. Sometimes, we are the ones that break unity and hurt other believers. It is our devotion to one another and unwavering desire for unity that protects us.
FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT!!
Stay tuned to learn more. We will develop these ideas more fully in the weeks ahead, so subscribe to the blog feed to the right. And don’t miss the early bird rate by signing up now for Nehemiah Week 2017
– posted by: Randall Sanford