THE INNER BATTLE

If there is one thing ubiquitous to human existence, it is the reality of struggle. Be it the struggles between groups of people, conflicting ideas and nations; or man trying to overcome adversity in various forms, struggle comes to characterize human existence. What man fails to recognize though, is the struggle that constantly exists in the spiritual realm- the unseen realm that is attached to us and closely intertwined with all we do on this earth.

Coming to know God and establish a personal relationship with him through faith in Christ is what opens man’s eyes to the reality of this unseen realm. Man thereafter goes from being blind to truly seeing the operations within this reality. It is like putting on a pair of 3D glasses to see a movie in 3D; without the glasses, you do see a blur, which is a faint reflection of the real movie, but with the glasses on, the movie comes to life. It is no different with putting faith in Christ. However, after coming to recognize this hidden reality, man is able to navigate this reality effectively using spiritual instruments.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2Corinthians10:3-5)

Recognizing this spiritual reality helps a disciple of Christ to live life very differently from one who is not. While normal man struggles in the physical realm using worldly instruments of force, money, power, fear and deceptive scheming, a person who is aware of the spiritual realm relies on faith, love and hope as his foundation and uses the word of God, prayer, meekness, perseverance, boldness and humility as his instruments. The former man, being aware only of the smaller physical realm, works exclusively in that realm to attempt to make changes in that realm. The latter, being also aware of the larger spiritual realm, moves in that realm to effect changes in the connected physical realm. Obviously all this would be gibberish to one who has not been enlightened in Christ and is therefore blissfully unaware of the deeper spiritual realm that engulfs us and controls all things around us.

Strongholds are exactly what they mean- something that has a strong hold over man and keeps him captive. Strongholds have deep roots in the spiritual realm and can be overcome only by the spiritual power that is exerted by one who is aware of that realm. Practically every modern-day movement in society that man so passionately pursues has roots in bringing down the knowledge of God and in minimizing him, if not putting him away. Every such argument and any pretension against the exaltedness of God needs to be identified and demolished within the thought process of a believer. Learning to judge every thought in the light of God’s word is Paul’s prescription to perfect that attitude and move effectively in the spiritual realm, so that one’s life might be productive and impactful.

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