Fighting From Victory by Susan Barnes
“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.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 The Bible makes it clear that, as Christians, we are in a war. Not a war like the world understands war, but rather a spiritual battle. A battle “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).
When I first started reading the Old Testament, I wondered why there were so many battles and so much fighting. Later I came to realize that much of the Old Testament is a shadow of what was to come in the New Testament. Today there are also many battles, but they are spiritual, we don't wrestle against flesh and blood.
Neil Anderson, author and theologian, comments that the church is not a hospital, but rather a military outpost that has an infirmary. Meaning that while it is the role of the church to care for the sick and wounded, that is not our primary function. Our function is to enforce God’s reign and rule, which we do simply by believing and living out our faith.
We may find ourselves in many spiritual battles. But we fight from a place of victory because Jesus “having disarmed the powers and authorities, made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15).
We can face spiritual battles with confidence, knowing Jesus has won the victory for us.
Susan, an Australian pastor's wife, regularly writes devotional thoughts on Bible passages, book reviews and inspirational articles. Contact 
