February 2: The weapons of our warfare

For though we live as human beings, we do not wage war according to human standards, for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, but are made powerful by God for tearing down strongholds. We tear down arguments and every arrogant obstacle that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ.  (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 — NET)

There was a hill close to ancient Corinth that rose to a height of approximately 2000 feet—with a fortress and a temple on top. Because this was something the Corinthians saw every day, Paul probably had this in mind when he spoke about tearing down strongholds, and every arrogant obstacle. 

As the Lord Jesus’ disciples we are in the middle of a huge, life-and-death battle—a war between God and Satan—God’s angels and the devil's demons—the people of God and the people of Satan. The problem is that this war is not a physical war that can be won with physical strength or weapons—it has to be fought with the spiritual weapons of faith and the word of God. If we react to this war in a human way, we’ll be ineffective at best, and beaten down and destroyed at worst. 

The last sentence of this passage is an important one, because it speaks about the fight being one of arguments, knowledge, and thoughts. If this war were only physical we’d be able to handle it better and not get side tracked. But it’s not, and that’s why we have to be plugged into God’s word and presence. Only when we are close to Him and living constantly in His presence (at home, on the job, on the street, at school) will we have the wisdom to tear down arguments and arrogant obstacles in our way, and take EVERY thought captive.

I heard a story today about one of our members in Brazil who was going home from a late night service at one of our churches where they had been seeking the Holy Spirit. She left feeling so good and close to God that she didn’t realize that she had turned onto an extremely dangerous street that she normally avoided. A young man came up to her with a knife and ordered her to give him all her money, and before she could think about what to say she responded with, “Son… why’re you doing this. All I have is bus fare.” Immediately his face changed, he fell to his knees, and apologized. Why? It had been a long time since anyone had called him “son” and simply hearing a soft, concerned mother call him “son” jolted him back to reality.

If this woman had not been full of faith, if she had gotten scared instead of responding with compassion, she would have been robbed and possibly stabbed. When we take thoughts captive in small situations like this every day, we are worshiping God and freeing Him to be the powerful God He wants to be in our lives, and we end up changing the people around us.