Captivating Bible Study - Week Five (Spiritual Warfare)

This week we took inventory.  I wanted to find out where the ladies felt they were in the process of their healing.  I was encouraged by a couple of the testimonies that were shared.

One of the ladies shared about how she experiences alot of anxiety when a certain family member comes to visit.  Last week this person came for a visit and she caught herself feeling anxious.  But she did not let it take over.  She stopped, asked the Lord why she was feeling anxious and moved through steps to calm her anxious heart.

Another woman shared about how she had agreed with the lie that love was "stupid" -- loving others was stupid, to allow herself to be loved was stupid, because she always got hurt.  In her quiet time with the Lord, He gently spoke to her about this and wanted her to understand that love was one of the greatest emotions and that she was worthy of loving and being loved.

We then moved onto discussing spiritual warfare.  Although I wanted to make sure that we did not focus our attention solely on what we believed the enemy was doing in our life, the fact of the matter is, satan prowls around like a hungry lion looking to devour us.  So, we need to be watchful, always on our guard.  Below are some scriptures that we referred to in our discussion:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)

I reminded the ladies that the enemy's soul purpose is to steal, kill and destroy the life and purpose that God has planned for us.  However, Jesus came to give us ABUNDANT LIFE!  We need to be aware and recognize the enemy's attack, and we also must begin to pursue our abundant life by taking steps to freedom!

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

If we remain humble before the Lord, submitting ourselves to His Lordship, mind, body and spirit; AND if we RESIST the devil -- taking every thought captive and not giving ear or thought to the lies or temptations that he brings with him, then he will have no choice but to flee! 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. ¹²For 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. ¹³Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.  (Ephesians 6:10-18)

The whole point in battling spiritual warfare is not to focus on the devil but to free us to love Jesus. We need to be aware of the enemy's schemes against us and all of those we love.  It is vital that we put on the full armor of God every day and stand firm in the truth, resisting the devil.  I like to look at it this way:

• The "Belt of Truth" - this holds it all together and this is the place where we store our arsenal of weapons
• The "Breastplate of Righteousness" - this covers our hearts.  It keeps us pure and full of love.
• The "Shield of Faith" - this keeps the fiery darts of the enemy from coming in and therefore keeps us girded up in our faith and strong.
• The "Helmet of Salvation" - protects our minds from the onslaught of the enemy's lies; it helps to remind us of who we are in Christ
• The "Sword of the Spirit" - the Word of God.  His truth.  Without which we cannot stand.

And always remember, you are stronger than anything that may try and come against you in this world.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

Rise up ladies! Rise up and be the beautiful, captivating woman that God intended for you to be.  You were called to shine and to reflect HIS glory!

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. (Isaiah 60:1)