When my little boys pretend to fight a battle, it’s usually against one another. The conflict that begins as imaginative, always ends the same way – plastic swords flying through the air, a whack to a brother’s arm, a scream followed by tears and a mouthful of ugly words hurled at the opponent. It wears me out to watch it escalate into a skirmish I’ll be forced to get up and settle…again.
There’s a different kind of crusade that doesn’t produce the same tension between them. In fact, the play time lasts twice as long, they enjoy each other more and in the end they are unharmed. Their most successful conquests happen when they are on the same team, fighting a common invisible enemy.
Ephesians 6:12 was on my mind recently as I watched them duke it out against the imaginary adversary. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Our struggle is not against people. It’s against a spiritual enemy. It’s against the Invisible.
My sons are a perfect picture of this. When they fight each other, no one wins. The result brings physical pain and broken relationships that require work to mend. When they join together to fight what they can’t see, there is power and victory for my two tiny soldiers. They are better together, fighting on the same side.
As a single mother I had a long list of things to blame on the man who left me. Most of them didn’t even make sense. If my car broke down, I was mad at him. If a kid got sick in the middle of the night, I was irritated with him. If my son got in trouble at school, I was bitter toward him. I took my fight to the closest flesh and blood within arm’s reach and swung with full force. In the end, I was the one exhausted and defeated. Can you relate?
Moms, our struggle is NOT against people. Not AGAINST people. Not against PEOPLE. As believers in Christ, we are called to use the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, but we are not permitted to use it to annihilate other people. Our fight is against the Invisible, the spiritual enemy who seeks to destroy us and render us ineffective for the Kingdom of God and powerless as a parent.
Here are 3 quick thoughts for fighting the Invisible.
- Pray for perspective. Ask the Lord to show you those areas in which you’re fighting against people rather than fighting for people against the rampant sin in our world.
- Surrender your cause. Whatever you’re facing, our God is big enough to handle. When our hearts are fully committed to Him, He will fight on our behalf.
- Fight on your knees. Scripture tells us the weapons we use — prayer and God’s Word — have divine power! Victory is found in Jesus. Our most powerful defense against a spiritual enemy is a thriving prayer life.
There is no shortage of battles in this life for single moms. The question is, who are you fighting? Be encouraged today to lock arms with other believers and face life’s challenges grounded in truth and under the command of our mighty King Jesus. He is more than enough to defeat the Invisible.
About Kim Heinecke
Kim Heinecke wants to live in a world where children listen to the advice of their mothers without question. As a former single mom she’s been encouraging women using her life experiences in parenting, growing in the Word of God and everything in between. When she’s not negotiating with a teenager or wrestling a pre-schooler, you can find her camping in the family RV or pretending to understand sports with her husband and four sons. Read more from Kim at www.TheMomExperiment.com.