In times of peace, we have to prepare for war

The time of peace is the perfect time to prepare for war. We should not wait for the moments of crisis in our life and then try to strengthen our spiritual foundations. The believer is strengthened in the Lord every day, especially in times of quiet and normality. Each day — through prayer, reading the Word, communing with other believers — the Christian provisions for both normalcy and testing. By acquiring wisdom daily, recognizing and surrendering the areas of our personality that need the Lord's treatment, wearing the full armor of God — we strengthen the foundations of our life and become increasingly impenetrable to the attacks of the enemy.

The essential orientation of the son or daughter of God is towards peace, stability and prosperity. That is your heritage and your expectation. Now, as he lives in peace and enjoys the benefits of being a child of God, he keeps an eye out against the wiles of the devil, and prepares for possible times of war, which will undoubtedly come (see I Pet 5: 8 and Eph 6: 10-13). Such continuous vigilance, however, never degenerates into a sick preoccupation with the machinations of the demonic hosts. She is always focused on the love and grace of God, which are always resting on her life.

Over the years I have met many believers with a highly developed conscience regarding the importance of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and spiritual warfare, but tragically deficient when it comes to other aspects of Christian maturity. The minds of these beloved brethren are focused almost exclusively on the dramatic and spectacular dimension of the Christian life — the miracles, the prophecies, the demons, the gifts, the Second Coming. But they dangerously neglect ethical growth, the strengthening of personality, and the daily cultivation of the Fruit of the Spirit referred to in Galatians 5:22 and 23. Many times, their family life is a disaster, and their social relationships — even in life. church — leave much to be desired. Their knowledge of the doctrinal aspects of Scripture is very deficient, and they have serious difficulties with the church authorities.

The main problem with this type of believer is that he sees the Christian life almost exclusively from a crisis perspective. He is seen as perpetually at war, continually battling dark forces that want to destroy him. This type of Christian does not have the time or energy, therefore, to devote himself to the patient and systematic cultivation of other aspects of the spiritual life. This continuing orientation toward crisis and spiritual conflict incorporates a degree of truth, but it distorts the whole of Christian experience. It is rather exhausting and simplistic, and prevents the formation of a mature and complex biblical spirituality.

AN INHERITANCE OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY

It is true that times of war and conflict are coming in the life of every believer. The apostle Paul speaks in Ephesians 6:13 of "withstanding in the evil day." He also speaks of the fact that “we do not fight against blood and flesh, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly regions” (v. 12). But it is equally true that most of the believer's life should be lived in the peace of the Lord.

In Philippians 4: 7 Paul speaks that "the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus." God's intention is that we live in peace and prosperity, not in a continual state of war and crisis. In Romans 15:13, for example, Paul blesses his readers as follows: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit." Paul speaks continually of the "God of peace," and one of his characteristic greetings to his readers is "grace and peace" (see Rom 14:17 and 15:33; I Cor 1: 3 and II Cor 1: 2).

This is where the importance of building solid walls to protect our spiritual life comes in, and building solid foundations to resist the pressures of the Christian life. Even as we enjoy times of peace and prosperity, we need to be sure to strengthen the places of possible attack from the enemy (II Chron 17:12 and 13).

Like Joseph, in times of plenty and prosperity we have to plan for times of drought and adversity. In this way, when the Enemy rises to throw his fiery darts at us, he will find our armor ready to resist on the bad day.