What is your go-to weapon when attacked?
Stepping through the dark room, I turned on the nearby lamp. I reached for the blanket to cozy up on my favorite sofa spot. With my steaming cup of coffee, Bible, and journal, I was ready to spend a few quiet moments with the Lord. Then my nightmare began to play out in real time.
Right out of the blanket covering my lap crawled a black, eight-legged creature from hell. I froze for a split second trying to determine if I was actually awake. I was.
A scream escaped as I jumped from the sofa watching the blanket and Bible fall to the ground. The spider froze on the floor where he fell from my lap. Just writing it now brings back all the terror feels.
He and I matched each other’s frozen positions momentarily while I looked for the nearest weapon. Side by side lay my Bible and a toy gun. Time to choose my weapon. I hated to do it, to smear his body with my beloved Bible, but I did it anyway. I took that giant Bible and came down with a force to ensure that spider was fully dead. And yes, I did squeal as I killed him.
It took me a minute to settle back in after cleaning my Bible. As I sat waiting for my heart rate to slow, I did what I typically do. I began seeing the spiritual parallels to my physical experiences.
I realized that spider was in fact my enemy. He lay in hiding out of my sight until he didn’t. We have a very real enemy. Sometimes he is so good at hiding we forget to shake the blanket. We are so focused on our comfort and experiences, we forget he is tucked in somewhere nearby, watching and waiting for the moment to break onto the scene.
Just like when I assessed my weapon against the spider, we look at our lives when we face attacks and try to find the nearest weapon. Our temptation is for what we can see and touch. We look for something tangible we can do to fix our situations immediately. All the while we have a weapon with us at all times for every single situation. And this weapon wins every single battle.
“For the word of God never fails.So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:10 NKJV
“No weapon formed against you will succeed, and you will refute any accusation raised against you in court. This is the heritage of the Lord’s servants, and their righteousness is from Me.” Isaiah 54:17 HCSB
While this was written about the Israelites, we have been grafted into their heritage through Jesus, so this promise is for us as well.
No weapon will prevail against us. Some may read this and respond with, “Oh yeah, then how come I feel I’m losing in life right now?” We face many hardships in life, but ultimately, if we are in Christ, we win despite the struggles and battles we face here.
The enemy’s plan is to kill, steal, and destroy. The plan of God is to give us life, eternal life.
Our hope isn’t here in the battle. Our hope isn’t in how every circumstance here turns out. It’s in eternity where everything will be put right. Every wrong avenged, every hurt healed.
When life comes against us, we need to remember what our best choice of weapon is. The Word of God.
Ephesians 6 instructs us how to fight our enemy. Before a soldier goes to battle, he makes sure he is clothed and equipped properly. So should we do the same. Ephesians 6:17 tells us our sword, our weapon, is God’s Word.
A sword is used both defensively and offensively. We battle against the accusations hurled from the enemy with the truth of God’s Word. At the same time, we take ground by declaring the fullness of His Word in the power of His Spirit.
So, it turns out I chose wisely when I picked my weapon against the creepy crawly spider. A toy gun, which was made to look like an actual weapon yet was completely powerless. Or the Bible, large enough to smack down on that spider, crushing him completely. Just as the Word of God breaks through the enemy’s fight against us. It wins every time.
Never leave home without your sword. Keep it tucked into your heart.
With love,
Renee
