reason to fear. If we stay close to Him, that will always be true, no
matter our circumstances. Our Father is good. Our Father is loving.
Our Father is more than we could ever expect. His goodness extends
into all areas of life—including the battles we find ourselves in.
When we are attacked, some of us
prepare for the long haul. We build fortresses and walls and settle
down for a decade-long siege. We do not realize and perhaps aren’t
open to the possibility that there is goodness even here, in the
midst of hardship.
It can be difficult for us to understand why God
is allowing this obstacle, let alone realize it might just be our
Father’s doing. Though we are aware of the promise that all
things work together for our good (Rom. 8:28), we typically hold
this truth at a distance.
Here, however, our thinking needs to
change. Every time we are attacked by something, God releases
influence in our lives to overcome that attack. This means that we
enter painful situations at one spiritual “level,” and, depending
on our choices, we exit them at another level. If people attack us,
we gain influence with people. If we are demonically attacked, we
gain power and authority. From a human perspective, these tests may
be painful and chaotic, and many of us run from them. But they are
opportunities for promotion.
Stumbling Headfirst Into the Next Level
God’s
power is seemingly absent in much of the Western church today. Many
of us have been praying for more of His power, but His strength is
not something that can just be handed to us. It is not something that
comes flippantly or easily. We don’t obtain it with passivity; we
earn it through battle—by walking with God through shadowed places
and overcoming the things that stand against us. As Jesus said, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force
(Matt. 11:12). If we want more of God’s power in our lives, we can
expect conflict.
The question then becomes, What do we really want? Do we want
to become champions of the Most High? Do we want to see
God’s kingdom come on earth and to experience His power in our
everyday lives? Do we want Him?
If the answer is yes, then change is in the air. In most cases, we
can expect the road to get a little rocky. We can, actually, expect
what many of us are already experiencing—times of intense battle!
Herein we find the “battlefield promotions” of God.
That is why times like these are not times for fear; they are
times for promotion. The way in which we handle difficulties is the
key to our success. If we try to keep doing things our own way, we
will stay exactly where we are, following the same road. But if we
turn to God and trust Him, He will move on our behalf and help us
overcome the darkness.
In the Midst of War
For years, I believed that
if God wanted me to do something, I would be able to do it easily. So
when the opportunity became difficult, I would quit, thinking God was
no longer in it. Yes, sometimes God’s intended path has long,
lenient stretches that are wide and flat and simple to navigate. But
at this point in my life, I grow a little nervous when something
seems too easy. Small battles tend to produce small
champions. When given the choice to stay in the melee or run from it,
I do my best to pick up my sword and look to God. I have spent far
too much time running from my war zone, when there was no reason for
it.
We live in difficult times. The world we know is shaking. But when
we find ourselves in battle, we can remember that God is releasing
influence in our lives to help us overcome that darkness. And
afterward, when the dust has settled, we can stand there and
experience the wonder that is found in walking hand in hand
with Him in the midst of war.
About the author: John Paul Jackson is the founder of Streams Ministries International (streamsministries.com)
and a well-known authority on dream interpretation and prophetic
evangelism who ministers nationally and internationally in churches and
conferences. He also shares his practical and spiritual expertise through his Streams Training Center courses and
publications, and he is the author of numerous books, including the
best-selling titles Unmasking the Jezebel Spirit and Needless Casualties of War.
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