Stop Fighting!

'We do not wage war as the world does.' 2 Corinthians 10:3 NIV

During World War II, Allied bombers carried machine guns in the nose, under the belly, on top, and in the rear. B–17s, better known as ‘flying fortresses’; and carried thirteen .50 calibre machine guns. At one point scientists suggested the planes might actually be safer without them. Without the extra weight needed to operate the guns, they could fly faster and higher, increasing their odds of survival. The pilots, however, thought differently. They wouldn’t even consider embarking on a mission without guns to shoot back and defend themselves.

 

Think about it for a moment: ‘We make the same choice when it comes to fighting our own battles.’ God says we don’t need the guns… we can soar higher and faster with Him. I have a poster on my office wall that says, ‘For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.’ The weapons He gives ‘have divine power to demolish strongholds’; we don’t need the ‘weapons of the world.’ (2 Corinthians 10:3–4 NIV)

 

But if I've learned anything in 30 years of pastoring, we say ‘No thanks’; we have to shoot back and defend ourselves with arsenals of angry words, demanding attitudes, manipulative manoeuvres, excessive excuses, and bombs of blame.

 

It takes courage to stop using weapons of the flesh, ‘take up the shield of faith’, and arm ourselves with the weapons of God (Ephesians 6:16 NIV). It’s the kind of faith David showed when he [told] Goliath, ‘You come against me with sword and spear…but I come against you in the name of the Lord.’ (1 Samuel 17:45 NIV) Stop fighting in your own strength and let God’s spiritual arsenal defend you; ‘He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.’ (Proverbs 30:5 NIV)

 

You are Loved!