…about witnesses and weapons
Weapons have been in the news a lot lately. Gun control is a hot topic and has been since the Columbine School Shooting in 1999. In my mind, the problem with gun control is that the bad guys don’t play by the rules — they never have. God says, “This one is mine!” Immediately, the devil goes after that one. The problem in the spiritual world is that you can’t see the weapon in the hand of the enemy because the battlefield is the mind.
What are some of the weapons that Satan uses against the saints in order to make their witness ineffective? Here is a short list: fear, anxiety, procrastination, laziness, low self-esteem, pride, arrogance, self-centeredness, being abused or abusing others (verbal, mental, emotional, spiritual, physical).
God wants His people to know that He is in control of the battle.
“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.” (Isaiah 54:17)
What are some of the weapons given to us to combat the weapons that have been formed against us? Maybe this excerpt from a letter I wrote can help us see how this works.
"Wouldn’t it be wonderful if God would just zap us at the “New Birth” and everything in our lives be perfect. That is what I’ve always wanted anyway! But then there would be no need for mercy or grace or the power of the Holy Spirit. God has shown me something interesting about the power of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1:18 it says that we will receive power after the Holy Spirit comes upon us and that we will be witnesses. Interestingly, the word ‘witness’ is the same Greek word from which we get the word ‘martyr.’ Pentecostals and charismatic people seem to believe that the power we receive is the ability to work miracles and stuff like that. But if the power is for the purpose of being a martyr, then that power is like a shield or force field that enables us to remain true to the word of God regardless of what Satan may throw our way.
So why, you ask, are we still plagued by so much bad stuff? Jesus said we would have trouble and tribulation in this life. How we respond to our trials is what is so important. In Isaiah we are told that “no weapon formed against you shall prosper.” So we think we aren’t suppose to have to face any problems. It doesn’t say no weapon will be formed, but that none formed will prosper — or succeed! We see weapons formed against good Christian people succeeding all the time. It is all in how we respond to those weapons. The weapon of cancer was formed against my friend Lola, but it didn’t prosper. She continued to praise the Lord, lead people to Jesus, laid hands on the sick, interceded for the captive and brokenhearted. When the Holy Spirit “came upon” her, she received power to be a witness and she used that power to witness to the glory of God. Lola died of cancer in 2001 but it wasn’t because the devil’s weapon succeeded. It was because she had completed her race and God took her home to her reward! In Proverbs we are told that “the Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runs into it and is safe.” In Romans 8, Paul tell us that NOTHING can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit stands like an invisible shield around the part of me that is really me and protects me from the onslaught of the devil. The weapon of poverty can’t prosper against the child of God who continues to give at every opportunity. The weapon of depression can’t prosper in the atmosphere of praise. When we respond to our circumstances by faith in accordance with the Word of God, we are making use of the power given to us by the indwelling Holy Spirit.'“
Some of the weapons formed against me during the years between the above letter and my move to Graham, Texas, were manipulative use of verbal, emotional and spiritual abuse. At first glance, I would have said they prospered. But reconsidering now, I can see that I have only been made stronger and more determined to see the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of women; creating courageous, joyous, vibrant “martyrs” for Christ!