Spiritual Warfare – Down, but not out!
If a person says they have very little experience of spiritual warfare or trials and temptations, it is highly probable that they just aren’t a threat to the devil or his kingdom.
The flip side to this coin is that if a person makes a decision to be more radical and establishes in their heart that they want to accomplish something for the Kingdom of God, it is inevitable that they will face the fiery darts of the enemy. A reality that the author C S Lewis knew all to well as revealed in his classic book: Screwtape Letters.
I’m probably going to use quite a few boxing illustrations. So, I apologise if that’s not your thing but I will try and use other illustrations that come to mind too.
So often, in the boxing world, you see a ‘huge prospect’ rising quickly through the rankings with maybe a 15-0 record. What happens then? The pundits and public holler and cry out for tougher opposition; to see what that young hopeful is really made of. Going 12 or 15 rounds instead of knocking out an opponent will really show a fighters true metal; and if they survive a knockdown or two themselves all the better. Sometimes it’s not just physical; there are mental battles to be overcome too – do you recall the song ‘No Easy Way Out’ (Rocky IV).
What do we do when set backs or failures come? When it’s not all plain sailing? There are probably so many illustrations of people who overcame trials and obstacles along the way to achieving their goal. Look at Abraham Lincoln for instance. Didn’t he fail three times before becoming president of the USA! One of my favourite examples is the guy that invented the photo-copier (what would we do without this today!). He originally worked in a patent office and got tired of having to hand copy all the patents and was sure there was an easier way. He became obsessed with his goal. His wife finally left him after he would do things like use their washing machine to experiment on. She probably later regretted that move! Even when he had developed his copier machine, he was rejected by so many big companies (I think IBM was one of them). Finally, Xerox saw the potential and that’s why for quite a while photocopies were widely called Xerox machines. I mentioned a Rocky film earlier. Well, Sylvester Stallone wrote the script for the original Rocky when he was practically penniless. Few film companies were interested in it.
The only producers who were interested wanted Burt Reynolds, James Caan, or Ryan O’Neal to be Rocky, who were all big stars at the time. They offered him a lot of money but Sylvester Stallone decided to go it alone and make the film himself as in his heart he wanted to be the Rocky character.
Just going back to the boxing illustrations again, do you recall Frank Bruno? Well, he always believed that he would one day become heavyweight champion of the world. Did success come easily? No, of course not! He suffered some pretty bad defeats along the way before finally accomplishing a huge achievement.
Even when things seem to be going great, a person is at the top of their game, trials can certainly reveal the heart of a man. I will never forget watching a classic fight. The great Sugar Ray Leonard fought Donny Lalonde in 1988.
In round four I witnessed something that I thought I would never see; Lalonde scored a knockdown in round four. Ray Leonard got up and sustained an onslaught. What must have gone through his fuzzy mind at that time. What I saw though, was the true heart of a great champion. He was briefly down but determined in his heart that he may have been down but would not be knocked out. Something kicked in within him and he retaliated with a whirlwind of his own punches and not long after that the roles were reversed and Lalonde was put on the canvass and inevitably knocked out!
One last illustration that came to mind. At the time when kings were meant to be going to war, King David took a holiday. What was the result? Well, the whole Bathsheba episode of course. Temptation can come also when we aren’t doing what we are supposed be! The good news is that “all things work to the good….” And David eventually repented, dusted himself down, got on with it and as a result Solomon came along!
What can we make of all this? Well, the fiery darts of the enemy will come; sometimes when we are tired, weary and discouraged but other times when we may even feel on-top of the world. The important thing to remember is that devil is a wily and skilful adversary who will bide his time, search out for weaknesses before launching an assault.
Here are three key verses that have helped me tremendously. Because, I’m not too proud to admit that I don’t always win the battles. But what I have learned is that to coin the well used phrase; “it’s how you get up after you’ve been knocked down that really matters”. Of course we know that Jesus has already won the war for us. We know the end of the story. But this Christian life is not all plain sailing and there are battles to be won and lost along the way.
Micah 7:8
Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. … The Lord will bring me into the light, and I will see his righteousness.
Psalm 37:4
though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.
Proverbs 24:16
for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.
