Ministry Resources

Born on the Battlefield

Author: Howard and Nancy Stevens

The young husband gently wipes his wife’s brow.

She is in labor and the pains are getting closer together. Suddenly her water breaks, the pains increase in intensity . . . and, finally, the baby arrives.

You would expect that the doctor and nurses would gently clean the infant, show him to his happy parents, and then whisk him away to a clean, cheerily decorated nursery, where visitors could see and admire him.

But the sound of sniper fire greets this child’s arrival. The parents, though safe for the moment in the ruins of a building, know the dangers that surround them can close in unexpectedly. The impact of bombs exploding nearby shake what remains of the building. As the sun sets, frightening darkness envelops the family.

“What has our baby done to deserve this?” his mother tearfully asks her husband.

“Nothing, my love,” he tells her. “This is just the way things are.”

“But how will he ever survive in this nightmare?”

Her husband doesn’t answer immediately. He’s pondering their son’s future. Finally, he responds, “We’ll pray that somehow God will help him.”

“Maybe tomorrow we can find a way to escape from this battlefield,” his wife whispers.

“But this is our world,” her husband says sadly. “There is no escape.”

“How tragic,” you may be saying, “that any child should be born into such a dismal situation.”

But, in reality, every single human being is born into a world that is at war. In the unseen spiritual realm, angels and demonic spirits fight with weapons that humankind has never imagined. The enemy marshals his forces to try to steal the souls of those whom God created in His image.

Often when the battle between good and evil is discussed, people tend to think of both sides of the conflict as being somewhat equal. The works of the enemy seem so obvious in our violence-prone world: broken lives, starving children, abused family members, distorted values. “Where is God in the midst of all this? Why doesn’t He do something to change things?” many question.

But the enemy is no match for Almighty God.

Although we are born on the battlefield, He is right here with us. He dispatches His angels to surround us. The moment we cry out to Him, He hears our prayer.

When we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord we join the winning side! As we learn and grow strong in Him, He enables us to put on the armor that He supplies (Ephesians 6:10,11). Prayer and the sword of the Spirit are our powerful offensive weapons. We can stand strong with the belt of truth buckled around our waists and the breastplate of righteousness protecting our hearts and other vital organs. The shield of faith will extinguish the enemy’s flaming arrows, and the helmet of salvation symbolizes the victory of the Cross.

Although no human being could withstand the assaults of the enemy on his or her own, the Holy Spirit who indwells us is overwhelmingly more powerful than all the enemy’s forces (1 John 4:4). We do not live as defeated fighters struggling to hold off the enemy, for we are “more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

When we die, we know with absolute certainty that we will immediately find ourselves in the presence of our loving Lord. As we gaze at His smiling face, all memories of the battlefield will disappear forever.

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