Dear Missionary Lady,
Greetings in the name of the Supreme God. He rules over not just a town or state or country, but over the entire universe. (And, who knows? There could be expanses that we don’t even know about.) His rule is not just over the physical world, but also over the unseen spiritual world.
We humans are in an unusual in-between position. On the one hand, we are human. We are flesh and bone. We walk on dirt and grass and concrete, and we move between trees and buildings. We face the challenges of this physical world: rain, mosquitoes, stairs, deserts. We interact with other humans.
On the other hand, not every challenge that we face is of this physical world. There are unseen powers and forces. We can’t see them, but we still are influenced by them and must interact with them. We walk on this physical earth, with all its components, but we are in a battle against things that are beyond this physical earth. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh” (2 Corinthians 10:3). Ephesians 6 refers to “the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
How can we successfully battle against powers that are on a different level than where we live? That are beyond the human boundaries within which we exist? Thankfully, through the provision of our Supreme God. Our own weapons and efforts and understanding are not sufficient for the spiritual battle, but God gives us resources. “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)” (2 Corinthians 10:4). Through the spiritual weapons provided to us by God, we can have victory in ways that we cannot imagine.
The battles on the spiritual level are diverse. Some are on a global scale beyond what we can comprehend. In a practical way, those battles can involve our ministries, the people we have contacts with or outreach toward, and even our own selves. On whichever level we face the battle, our goal is for the truth to prevail – to guide, to conquer, to illuminate, to control. We reject and reveal the error, and instead we exalt Christ and the Bible, allowing God to put things back into their proper order. “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
May God give you wisdom, grace, strength, and provision to meet the physical demands of this physical world. May He also give you the wisdom, power, and truth to face the assaults of the spiritual world.
Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
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