Latest / Arise Women of God / What is Spiritual Warfare Definition
Transcript
- 0:01Hey, my friend, have you ever wondered what is the definition of spiritual warfare?
- 0:06Because you look at your chaotic home, a distant spouse, a struggling child, and think, am I just losing my mind?
- 0:15Or is there an invisible battle raging in my home right now?
- 0:21I feel you, sister.
- 0:22I've wondered that before.
- 0:23Maybe, like me, you felt utterly exhausted and want to know the real solution to find peace.
- 0:31Well, take heart.
- 0:32You are in the right place.
- 0:33And by the end of today's episode, you'll know how to define the real culprit behind the chaos, how to maintain a perfect balance of offense and three quick words.
- 0:47Connect, call and come to win the battle through Jesus Christ.
- 0:53Stay tuned.
- 0:54Ordinary women, extraordinary faith.
- 0:59When God calls, we say yes.
- 1:04Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Arise Women of God podcast.
- 1:08I'm your host, Tamara K.
- 1:10Anderson, and today we are defining exactly what is spiritual warfare.
- 1:16To help you move from feeling like a defenseless target to to standing as an empowered guardian.
- 1:24We are mapping out three vital pillars today.
- 1:28First is the scriptural definition.
- 1:31Second is the battleground of the mind and finding balance.
- 1:37And third is an epiphany I had where God taught me an absolute ultimate weapon for victory while I was on my knees.
- 1:45But let's kick it off by looking at the spiritual definition and asking an important question.
- 1:51Who is the enemy in spiritual warfare?
- 1:55Is it your spouse?
- 1:57Is it your wayward child?
- 1:58The video game?
- 2:00The addiction?
- 2:01The apostle Paul answers this perfectly in Ephesians 6:12, where he says, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, and against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high
- 2:23places.
- 2:24Satan is your adversary, dear sisters.
- 2:27And spiritual warfare is defined as an invisible strategic conflict of good versus evil.
- 2:35You will often find that the true adversary hides behind physical people and everyday situations.
- 2:42But remember to shift your focus from the screaming child to the real culprit.
- 2:48The amazing Christian author Priscilla Schrer wrote in her book Fervent.
- 2:53But this ain't no physical battle we're dealing with.
- 2:57No matter how much better you'd feel if life was all five senses and management, we are at spiritual war.
- 3:06So we need spiritual weapons.
- 3:10And I agree with her.
- 3:11My dear sister, I want to validate you for a moment.
- 3:15We as moms wish it was a simple solution, like, let's make a chore chart, because that feels so much more manageable to us when we're tired as moms.
- 3:25There is a reason the Apostle Paul goes on to talk about spiritual armor and weapons that Priscilla mentions in this quote.
- 3:34We need to arm ourselves daily with the armor of light, putting it on piece by piece, by doing things that tie us to God and light, like prayer, scripture study, beautiful music, communing with him in nature, being creative,
- 3:53and on and on.
- 3:54But when we define spiritual warfare, we have to strike a balance.
- 4:01The legendary Christian author C.S.
- 4:03Lewis famously noted in his book the Screwtape Letters, there are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils.
- 4:17One is to disbelieve in their existence.
- 4:20The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.
- 4:26My friends, we do not ignore the enemy, but we absolutely do not obsess over him either we acknowledge his tactics just enough to recognize his footprints, execute a spiritual eviction or casting out, and then we spend 100% of
- 4:45the rest of our energy focusing entirely on Jesus Christ.
- 4:51Because this war is not won by talking to the dark.
- 4:55It is won by bringing in our savior, Jesus Christ.
- 5:00Dr.
- 5:00Neil T.
- 5:01Anderson, author of Bondage Breaker, explains intrusive thoughts this way.
- 5:07He writes, we define spiritual warfare as the battle for the mind.
- 5:11Either we believe that the lies keep us in bondage, or we believe that the truth sets us free.
- 5:19We are not called to dispel the darkness.
- 5:21We are called to turn on the light.
- 5:24Oh my sisters, I.
- 5:25I agree.
- 5:26This battle is a battle for the mind.
- 5:29Do we believe the lies the adversary tells us, or do we turn to God to set us free?
- 5:36I remember so clearly being a young mother back when a good night's sleep was in very short supply and my stress was through the roof.
- 5:45The absolute greatest battles I fought during these early mothering years weren't just the physical exhaustion.
- 5:53They were right inside my own mind, just trying to remain calm during the constant daily chaos.
- 6:01And inevitably, even though I invited got in and clung to the light with everything I had, there were days when I lost my cool.
- 6:09There were days when frustration boiled over and I raised my voice at my precious kids.
- 6:15And you, my friend, know exactly what happens next, don't you?
- 6:19This is the exact moment the adversary will loves to step into your weakness.
- 6:25First he pushes your buttons to see if he can get you to react.
- 6:29Then he immediately hits the shame button in your mind afterwards, whispering things like, look at you.
- 6:36You're a hypocrite.
- 6:37You're failing your kids.
- 6:39You're a terrible mom.
- 6:40God is so disappointed in you.
- 6:43How many of you have felt those intrusive thoughts in your mind before?
- 6:47I recall a particular evening once the house was finally quiet and the kids were fast asleep in bed.
- 6:55I collapsed onto my knees on my bedroom floor, weeping and apologizing to Heavenly Father once again for losing my cool and begging for his forgiveness.
- 7:08I felt so unworthy.
- 7:11But as I prayed, God did something miraculous.
- 7:15He poured out an overwhelming wave of pure peace and unconditional love that just soothed and fed my parched and exhausted soul.
- 7:26Right there, right then, my dear sisters, I learned the ultimate definition of spiritual warfare.
- 7:35It is that a battle can only be successfully fought and won alongside Jesus.
- 7:42I learned that night that I needed to connect to Jesus in the middle of a battle in my household, I needed to call on Jesus, and when I fell short, I needed to come to Jesus.
- 8:00If you too need help amping up your light before the battle hits, I invite you to connect to Jesus, to call on him in the middle of a battle and to come to him for love and peace and
- 8:20forgiveness.
- 8:22It is only through him that we can win this war.
- 8:27So my dear sisters, my dear friends, spiritual warfare isn't about being perfect.
- 8:33It is about being partnered.
- 8:36The moment you stop shooting weapons at your own family members and start anchoring your thoughts in the grace and authority of Jesus Christ, the enemy loses power over you and your household.
- 8:50You are a mother warrior of light and the captain of your soul has already won the war.
- 8:57To help you put these definitions into practical action and learn how to build a bulletproof shield over your mind when your bandwidth is absolutely zero, we have a gift for you.
- 9:13It's our A Mother's Spiritual Defense Guide 6 Empowering Steps to Fortify Home and Family, and it's available completely free at the link below.
- 9:25When you download your copy, turn immediately to step number one, the Divine Partnership, on page three.
- 9:32We have broken down the precise tools to help you trade your stress for God's guidance alongside some Scripture power statements you can screenshot and save to your phone to instantly cut through the adversary's shame loop late at night.
- 9:51Reclaim your peace, dear sister.
- 9:54You now know your adversary and you also know to whom you can connect, call and come.
- 10:01Jesus is your battle buddy in this spiritual warfare conflict.
- 10:07May you stay connected to him and until next time, may you arise.
- 10:11Do it God's way.
- 10:13God Strong if today's episode helped you feel a little closer to God, please like and subscribe.
- 10:21It helps us grow and ensures heaven's whispers stay at the top of your feed whenever you need them most.