Spiritual Warfare?

In the past months I have come to think a great deal about our thinking concerning spiritual warfare. You know, going to battle for the Lord and that whole deal. I am coming more and more to the conclusion that our warfare view is simply wrong for the most part. Lots of people like to be a "soldier for Christ" and fight amazing spiritual battles but there is much that does not line up in my mind concerning all of this. Especially the whole bit about Jesus dying once and for all mankind and how He got ALL authority given to Him and how now the enemy is a defeated foe.

Are many of us fighting for a victory that has already been won?

Of course there will be "battles". There will be hardship and there will be opposition. The question that continually goes through my mind is how we fight.

I have come to firmly believe that the highest form of spiritual warfare is rest. As we rest we use the tools of praise and worship. We use the discipline of getting our eyes off of ourselves, our situations and our feelings and we turn them to God. When He comes on the scene, what bit of the kingdom of darkness can stand?

I have much to process and think through on this still. I have been reading through the Bible a lot to discover what true warriors of God look like. Generally they look a lot different then the picture that most people would think a warrior to be these days. We think of a huge sword, insane bravery, fighting with our huge spiritual muscles. David thought of a few rocks and a slingshot against a very one-sided battle. Mighty warrior.

Jericho. Funny one. Huge spiritual battle and a victory was won. How? By a bunch of people walking around and shouting a lot.

Gideon was flat out insane by our standards.

The army of Isreal either hated music or knew something a little bit deeper then we do when it came to their battles as they sent the worshippers out first.

And what do we see when we look at that? Warriors or worshippers being the key to victory? Strength or reliance on God? How good and loud and violent we pray or how close we can get into the presence of God?

Much can be written about this and probably will be. But right now I am going to copy a bit out of one of my journals which I found to be very interesting. As I read through my Bible I am writing down scriptures that strike me as warfare scriptures which we can learn from. I read all the ones that I have copied down so far two nights ago and this is what it looks like:

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My eyes are on the Lord, for only He will release my feet from the storm. You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place. The Lord preserves the faithful. From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise because of your enemies to silence the foe and avenger. My shield is God most high, who saves the upright in heart. His pleasure is not in the strength of horses nor His delight in the legs of a man; the Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love. Those who look to the Lord are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. The righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers them from them all; He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. The Lord redeems His servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations. No King is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His Holy name. May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You. Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me.
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Pretty neat, huh? If you want scripture references, just go read all the Psalms. They're all in there somewhere. You'll probably find some good stuff in there all on your own too!