Day 12: learning to combat spiritual warfare through Christ

                Today is only my 12th day in Zambia, yet in these past 12 days spiritual warfare has become so real to me. Satan knows why I am here and more then that, he knows to what I have been called and that this trip is the stepping stone toward that ultimate call, and he is obviously doing everything in his power to stop me.
                I can honestly say that prior to this, I have never had any doubts or fears about being called to Africa or about the truth and reality of my call. Deep inside I know that this call is real, that I have a sacred duty to perform on this earth, and that God is going to see to it that I accomplish His will, and His purpose for me. So I know that these doubts ad fears are nothing but warfare. I have been struggling with this a lot, especially these past 2 days, and no matter how much I prayed or read the word I could not get over this and shake this dark, depressed feeling. Until finally tonight, I had an encounter with God that changed my outlook on warfare, that shook me out of this and brought me out of this battle. An encounter that strengthened my faith and once again left me in awe of the might and power of my God.

            I was listening to my ipod when two back to back songs about fighting warfare and overcoming Satan came on, and suddenly I felt God’s presence surround me, and I felt Him nudging me to pay attention.  As I listened to the words of these songs, tears started welling up in my eyes, as I felt God speaking to my heart and impressing upon me the need to go away and get some alone time to pray.   I quietly slipped away to the bathroom where I started crying as I cried aloud to God to “ please hear me”. As I sat I there praying, I felt that my heart was going to burst from the deep feeling of His presence that suddenly rushed in and engulfed me.

      A deep sense of peace and joy welled up in me as I continued to pour out my heart before my Maker. As I told Him all that was in my heart and all that was happening…(things He clearly already knows), a sudden sense of strength, victory and stubbornness rose up in me and I knew that the battle was mine through Christ. As I verbally rebuked Satan in the name of Christ, I literally felt a great weight lift from my shoulders and deep peace fill my spirit.

       I now fully understand that in Christ I have the upper hand and will conquer Satan. It is none debatable. I have a weapon the enemy cannot defeat: I have Christ. I have the One who holds life and death in His hand fighting my battles for me. All I need to do in order to overcome Satan is to turn to God and surrender the fight to Him, knowing that He will surely free my soul from the battle that is raged against me. (Psalm 55:18)

       So once again I repeat, “That is my King”. The One who has the power to defeat Satan. The One who guards my heart and values my soul as precious. . That is my King. The Warrior on the front line, the Captain of my soul, the Victor of this battle. That is the King that I adore. The King who has again taught me another lesson. A lesson that I shall never forget for as long as I live. The same lesson that Amy Carmichael told the world when she stated that “faith is the victor” and “Christ the conqueror". This statement is so true, and He is just waiting for the chance to prove that to us. As I have discovered, all we need to do is turn to Him, to personally experience the incredible truth of this statement.
                                            “For the glory of God!”