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Why is Spiritual Warfare Necessary for Believers? · Arise Women of God

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  Hey, my friend, have you ever wondered why is spiritual warfare necessary for believers?
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  Because you are striving to live a faithful life.
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  But maybe you feel constantly hit with opposition, trials, friction, leaving you feeling exhausted and wondering if you're doing something wrong.
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  Maybe you want to know why doesn't God just shield you from it?
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  Well, you are in the right place.
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  And by the end of today's episode, you'll understand why opposition is vital for your spiritual growth, how our Lord Jesus Christ equips us for the battle, and how to master your daily routine on your knees.
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  Stay tuned.
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  Ordinary women Extraordinary Faith When God calls, we say yes.
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  The Arise Women of God Podcast hello and welcome back to the Arise Women of God Podcast.
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  I'm your host, Tamara K.
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  Anderson, and joining me today is the wonderful Carrie Angewerden.
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  Carrie is a wife, a mom, a prayer warrior, and a seeker of pocket miracles.
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  That's like baby miracles.
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  And she's here to help us understand why spiritual battles are an essential part of God's divine divine design.
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  Here's what we're going to talk about today's episode.
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  First, the principle of opposition, why agency and choice are required.
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  Second, what two verses of scripture reveal about living godly in a dark world.
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  Third, the daily kneel.
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  Carrie's going to share a story of how starting her day on her knees turned chaotic mothering into a walking partnership with God.
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  Next, we're going to talk about the eternal glory versus a temporal trial, how Paul's perspective in Romans 8 reframes every battle we face.
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  But let's start by tackling the core.
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  Is spiritual warfare just God being mean or is there a higher divine purpose?
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  Well, I think often we don't want it to be necessary to to have these struggles, right?
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  That just God being mean.
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  And it isn't.
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  My belief is that it is necessary because God has brought us to this beautiful place to live, to interact with people, to learn to be like Him.
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  And with that, he has also given us agency.
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  He's given us choice.
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  And you can't feel the impact of one choice without the opposition of another choice, right?
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  You don't understand love until you understand hate.
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  Like they unfortunately, you need one and the other to understand both and to make the best choice.
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  So part of it is that choice, right?
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  If listening to people who have had near death experiences, they talk about this overwhelming love that envelops them and wraps them and they don't want to leave it, right?
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  So I think if we had not been placed in a situation where we are far from God and he feels a little harder to reach.
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  We would have never chosen, because I don't know about you, but I like to bask in the love of those that love me, right?
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  And so coming to a place where we even talk about fallen world, it was designed that way from the beginning to give us that opportunity to experience all of that.
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  And in First Peter, chapter five and verse eight, he talks about being sober, being vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
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  And so spiritual warfare is necessary for us because we do have an opposition to the Savior, and that is in the devil.
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  And he is to destroy us.
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  That is his main goal, is to destroy us.
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  God's trying to build us up.
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  Satan's trying to destroy us.
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  And so this spiritual warfare is teaching us skills.
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  It is building our character.
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  It is helping to create in us a likeness of God.
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  And part of that is, again, that choice.
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  And we can choose either way.
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  That distinction from Carrie is crucial.
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  Spiritual warfare is not proof that God is angry at you.
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  It is the natural result of living in a fallen world where two kingdoms collide.
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  In 2 Timothy 3:12, Paul writes, Yea, and all that will live godly in Jesus Christ shall suffer persecution.
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  Notice what Paul is saying.
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  Living a godly life inherently creates friction with the darkness of this world.
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  When you choose to walk closely with Jesus Christ, love your family, and stand for truth, you are moving against the current culture.
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  Warfare is not a sign that you are off track.
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  It is often proof that you are walking right beside the Savior.
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  Think also of Ephesians 6:11.
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  Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
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  Ask yourself, why would God issue us heavy spiritual armor if we were never meant to step onto a battlefield?
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  God doesn't give us armor for dress rehearsals.
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  The armor exists because the clash with darkness is an inevitable, necessary part of our mortal growth.
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  So you may be asking, how do we navigate this daily clash without becoming overwhelmed?
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  Let's head back to Carrie as she shares how Jesus Christ succors us and how a simple morning habit can changed her motherhood.
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  And then again, just the reminder that Christ also experienced some of the same things that we've been experiencing.
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  Right?
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  Well, all of the things we've we're experiencing the temptation, the weakness.
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  And so he can empathize with us.
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  He knows firsthand what we're going through.
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  He knows how to sucker us.
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  He knows how to help us.
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  As a believer, I need to know that I need to know that he's with me.
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  I need to know that I have help in the midst of a trial when things are hard.
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  And I had a conversation with my daughter.
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  She's got two children, ages 2 and 5, and they're a lot, they're a handful.
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  And her husband's in med school and she's busy.
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  And she said, mom, how.
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  How did you do this with six kids?
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  How on the daily did you keep up and keep life going?
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  And I said I had to learn as a young mom to put God in charge to start my day first thing in the morning before my kids were up, to kneel on my knees and to ask for his
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  help.
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  I need your help through the day.
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  And if I did that on the days that I remembered to do that, my day went pretty well on the days that I forgot, man, I was counting down minutes at the end of the day, just, you know,
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  let's be done, put you in bed and I'm going to bed, right?
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  So we need him.
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  And that is why that he has given us this opportunity to be here is to learn to need him and to be like him.
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  I love that story so much.
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  When we learn to start our day on our knees, asking our Lord Jesus Christ for his daily grace, we stop reacting in our own strength and start walking in his divine power.
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  Spiritual warfare forces us to drop self sufficiency and learn how much we truly need him every single hour.
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  And when the battle feels heavy, long or unfair, Scripture gives us an internal perspective to hold on to.
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  Let's listen to Carrie share Paul's words from Romans chapter 8.
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  And Paul in Romans 8 talks about, you know, here's a man who's dealt with these severe beatings and shipwrecks and physical distress and nakedness and, you know, near drowning and all the things, right?
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  And he says, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
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  God has something glorious for us, and it may be difficult here now, and it may feel sometimes unfair.
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  God will make up for that.
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  Everything will be better than we could ever imagine in the end.
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  Oh, my friend, whatever you are enduring right now, God is using it to refine you, build character and prepare you for eternal glory.
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  If you're ready to take control of your daily routine, put on the whole armor of God and fortify your home against the enemy's pushback.
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  Carrie and I want to put a powerful free guide directly into your hands down in the show notes below, I invite you to click the link to download our digital guide A Mother's Spiritual Defense Guide six Empowering Steps
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  to Fortify Home and Family Once you've got it, turn straight to step number one, the Divine Partnership.
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  This is where you'll learn how to start your morning on your knees and trade human exhaustion for God's infinite strength.
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  Also check out step number two, the Catalyst Principle, which will teach you simple ways to adjust the spiritual temperature of your home when opposition strikes.
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  Also check out the bonus Scripture Power Statements.
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  These are direct biblical declarations to speak over your family daily.
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  Download your copy and start building your home's spiritual defense.
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  My dear sister, spiritual warfare is necessary because you are engaged in a great work.
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  You are building a home centered on truth, and the adversary knows the power of a godly mother.
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  I bear testimony that our Redeemer, Jesus Christ is with you in every trial.
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  He knows how to succor you.
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  He hears your early morning prayers, and he will make every suffering work together for your eternal good.
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  Thanks for joining us today and until next time.
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  May you arise and do it God's way.
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  God Strong.
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  If today's episode helped you feel a little closer to God, please like and subscribe.
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  It helps us grow and ensures heaven's whispers stay at the top of your feed whenever you need them most.