I’m mule headed

General Tommy Petreaus said of war: “War is hard and it’s hard all the time”. The Bible states that we are engaged in ferocious spiritual warfare and judging from my life’s experience I would readily accept the good general’s definition as applying to spiritual warfare too, because spiritual warfare is definitely hard and hard all the time.

Ours is not a war that is like the one in Iraq or Afghanistan or previous wars between nations, (although such wars may indeed be a part of the bigger war). Ours is a spiritual war. It is a war between satan and his fallen angel allies and Christ and His church, (us). It is an invisible war to us, in that we fight against an unseen enemy with powerful weapons that we cannot even fully comprehend. Therefore it is a war which must be waged by faith, and not by sight.

Billy Graham explained the reality of spiritual warfare in his book Angels:

“We live in a perpetual battlefield The wars among the nations on earth are mere popgun affairs compared to the fierceness of battle in the spiritual unseen world. This invisible spiritual conflict is waged around us incessantly and unremittingly. Where the Lord works, Satan’s forces hinder; where angel beings carry out divine directives, the devils rage. All this comes about because the powers of darkness press their counterattack to recapture the ground held for the glory of God

Since the fall of Lucifer, that angel of light and son of the morning, there has been no respite in the bitter Battle of the Ages. Night and day Lucifer, the master craftsman of the devices of darkness, labors to thwart God’s plan of the ages. We can find inscribed on every page of human history the consequences of the evil brought to fruition by the powers of darkness with the devil in charge. Satan never yields an inch, nor does he ever pause in his opposition to the plan of God to redeem the “cosmos” from his control. We are in great danger, not when the enemy is great and powerful, but when we think that we can stand in our own strength, rather than in the strength which God provides.”

A key takeaway here is: It is a war that we cannot fight in our own strength, but only in the strength which God Himself supplies.

Yesterday I posted this Scripture:

1 Cor. 15:54
Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

A key takeaway here is: Jesus Christ gives us victory over sin and death, (the primary weapons of choice of our adversaries).

I have learned many lessons in life, but none as valuable as discovering the need to completely surrender before I would ever enjoy pure God’s peace, joy, and happiness in my life. I was as stubborn and rebellious as anyone you might ever meet. After having been beaten to a senseless, bloody pulp, time after time, after time, I finally surrendered my life COMPLETELY to the Lord. This is not to be confused with accepting God as my Savior which I did years before.

Surrender means to completely turn your life over to God and make Him the number one priority in EVERY situation. I vacillated back and forth calling on God when I hit bottom and then when I was flying high I would ignore him. About 18 years ago, after I had suffered for seven long miserable years on bottom, I had endured all I wanted and embarked on a different path of complete surrender and resolved myself to try my utmost each and every day and night to do just that.

I have succeeded wildly for the most part, but you know what? It’s hard and it’s hard all of the time, because satan and his vast horde of demons which comprise his Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, and Navy are relentless in their quest to destroy our lives and discourage us at every turn with temptation and our inability to steadfastly resist sin on our own.

When I am faced with it, I earnestly try to keep in mind the two key takeaways:

1. It is a war that we cannot fight in our own strength, but only in the strength which God Himself supplies.

2. Jesus Christ gives us victory over sin and death.

Hmmm My lifes verse Phil. 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” seems to be the perfect choice for this old mule-headed boy.

The way to go about standing in the face of this fierce war and accomplish all things through Christ is to put on the full armor of God described in great detail below. We can face anything satan can bombard us with, (yes even including the death of a loved one), and remain standing strong, provided that we clothe ourselves with the full armor of God every day and every night, day after day, month after month, year after year, after year.

Keep the faith fellow soldiers!


Ephesians 6:10
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore,
o having girded your waist with truth,
o having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and
o having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
o above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
o And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints and for me…