Fighting the Good Fight of Faith

For a few weeks now I’ve been under attack.  James 1:2 tells me to count it all joy when I fall into various trials; Proverbs 24:10 states that if I falter in times of trouble that my strength is small; 2 Corinthians 4:17 tells me that my light affliction which is but for a moment is working for me a far  more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.  Great stuff right?  I wish I could say that I didn't let the enemy get to me... what I can say is that I didn't linger for long behaving ungodly.  Because the truth of the matter is that the aforementioned scriptures were playing through my head and I had to respond to what thus saith the Lord.

It’s been challenging though especially when the person the enemy is using to cause me grief is someone I love very much and would do almost anything for. My heart has been heavy with pain but I know that the Word of the Lord will see me through and so I continue to fight the good fight of faith.

As a result of this most recent attack I started reading The Three Battlegrounds, by Francis Frangipane  a book I purchased a few years ago because I was interested in learning more about spiritual warfare and how to do battle in that arena. Part one of the book deals with the battleground of the mind and the author states in the opening paragraph that, "To defeat the devil, we must be renewed in the spirit of our minds!" (p.9)

On the first page of Chapter 1, under the section that discusses how to prepare for spiritual warfare, I read "...but all of us must face the fact that the devil has initiated warfare against us." (p.11) The author goes on to say that some of us may never actually initiate spiritual warfare but that’s neither here nor there because a war has been raged and we are in it whether we want to be or not.

The first passage of scripture the author references is Jude 6. In my attempt to get a better understanding of that particular verse of scripture I started reading at the beginning of Jude but it was verse 7 that got my wheels a turning, and states in full, "Sodom and Gomorrah, too, and the neighboring towns, who with the same sexual immorality pursued unnatural lusts, are put before us as an example since they are paying the penalty of eternal fire." (The New Jerusalem Bible) It was the latter part of this verse that got my attention and I immediately thought of my oppressor and realized that she is headed towards that eternal fire if she isn’t set free from the bonds of the evil one, that is, our mutual enemy.

This very thought caused me great pain and I wanted to have a breakdown at that moment; however, before that could happen I realized that I had to go and meet with a neighbor of mine in the next 5 minutes. I quickly stopped all the emotions that wanted to burst out of me in a torrent and it was during this time of restraint that I realized a great truth about myself.

I was not walking in love where she was concerned. My 3^rd Blog entry was all about Love and I was daily encouraging myself with that timely message along with scripture but I was still missing the mark.

[God's love is not touchy, fretful or resentful, pays no attention to a suffered wrong, does not rejoice when unrighteousness prevails...Without the Love of God people can hurt our feelings and it is at that time we can begin to get touchy about it, and may begin to hold animosity towards the person - this is the opposite of Love. (Excerpt from my Blog entry #3)]

When the truth of the matter really dawned on me, I realized that I'm the problem because I’m not doing my part and my part is to walk in love as stated in 2 Corinthians 13.


When I got back from the quick meeting with my neighbor I continued reading Chapter 1 and realized some more great truths. In her book Frances Frangipane uses Peter as an example to bring home some very crucial and important points.

First, the areas in my life that are vulnerable to satanic assault Jesus will reveal so that he Jesus might destroy the works of the devil. This is why Satan is allowed to "sift us as wheat" as he did with Peter. Because even though the warfare against Peter was devastating, it was measured and it served the purpose of God. (p.15) In other words, because of the spiritual attack I now find myself in, I believe God allowed it, to show ME the error of MY way. I was not responding in love towards the one whom Satan is using to oppress me.

"Victory begins with the name of Jesus on your lips; but it will not be consummated until the nature of Jesus is in your heart. This rule applies to every facet of spiritual warfare. Indeed, Satan will be allowed to come against the area of your weakness until you realize God’s only answer is to become Christlike. As you begin to appropriate not just the name of Jesus, but His nature as well, the adversary will withdraw. Satan will not continue to assault you if the circumstances he designed to destroy you are now working to perfect you!" (p. 16) Wow! I’m almost speechless...

The first part of verse 8 in II Corinthians tells me that Love never fails... I must never, ever, forget to remember that LOVE is a very important and powerful weapon and I simply must choose to walk in love, no matter what.  I cannot afford to become touchy or fretful... 

If the beginning of this book is any indicator of what’s to come, then I’m in for a wonderful treat of exploration and discovery about myself and the God I serve as I continue to fight the good fight of faith. 

Be well in Jesus.




An In-Depth View of the Three Arenas of Spiritual Warfare: The Mind, the Church and the Heavenly Places

This is the revised edition of the original Three Battlegrounds book. Along with some slight text changes, it has an additional chapter.

Any time the Spirit of God is truly manifested in the earth, it will ultimately confront the strongholds of hell. An in-depth view of three arenas of spiritual warfare: the mind, the church and the heavenly places.

Features: Glossary, Table of Contents
Physical Info: 0.38" H x 8.12" L x 6.42" W (0.46 lbs) 164 pages
Carton Quantity: 64
Publisher: Arrow Publications
US SRP: $ 11.75 US
Binding: Paperback
Pub Date: June 2006