The Sword in Battle

This post is by Patty Lewis.

My life has been a long and hard journey filled with so much brokenness that even I am often shocked by it—which is strange because it is my life.  I’ve lived it for 45 years.  

This year, 2023 is marked by a cultivation that I worked hard on from October of 2022-present.  As part of the cultivating exercises, I was encouraged to choose one key word for the coming year.  My word for this year is “Freedom,” and I fully intend to walk in itin my freedom in Christ.  

Our family suffered great loss in 2022 and had to take some hard stands.  We have made changes that were life altering and continue to stand firm in those choices.  Each step ahead was marked by deep feelings.  Those feelings, though, were not what guided us.  The Word of God and the consistent seeking of His face while we asked Him to search our hearts and show us any wicked way in us were our guides. 

2023 is supposed to be my year of “Freedom” where I walk out my freedom in the Lord, Jesus Christ.  But rather than feeling free, I feel chained—to my past.  

This year, from January to present, we are experiencing some unexpected, yet again, life altering changes.  These are battles waged in the spiritual realms…but they appear like we are supposed to fight in the flesh, in our earthly realm.  We continue to feel deep feelings—indescribably deep feelings, feelings that if we spend much time in them will draw us into a pit of despair and terror.  The sword we hold in our hand in each of the battles simultaneously waging, the storms swirling all around us, threatening to take us out is The Sword of The Spirit—The Word of God.

This weapon and its description is found in Ephesians.  No matter how many times you’ve heard of the armor of God—a million since you were a kid or just now as you read this for the first time, it is of the same eternal importance.  The armor of God is essential.  Here, in Ephesians 6, you find each piece and a short description of it.

 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:10-17)

What I would like to impress upon your heart and mind today is this—the Word of God is—the Sword we wield in both offense and defense in the battles.  Our family has to make decisions in these situations we find ourselves in, even while we feel weak or powerless.  Those decisions are made wisely (even if afraid) because we seek God at His Word, and we have hidden it away in our hearts.

It might seem unimportant or daunting to purposefully set out to memorize Scripture.  I’m a human who likes to make excuses, rationalize myself out of hard tasks that require commitment and perseverance.  I have, though, continually sought ways to challenge myself to memorize some portions of Scripture that I have eventually hidden away in my heart.

Now, when I somehow thought life might get easier but I find the reality is it is getting harder, without effort on my part, the Word hidden in my heart is here, coming to me, filling me up, giving me strength, guiding me and my family into wise decisions and helping us stand firm on what is right.  I am confident in what God is directing us to do and our family is in agreement.  This is a direct result of studying God’s Word, sitting under the teaching of God’s Word, writing out index cards and taping them to the steering wheel/kitchen cabinets, writing out Scripture on bathroom mirrors with marker chalk and about a dozen other seemingly weird ways I have memorized Scripture over the years.

I encourage you to pick just one small piece of God’s Word and choose one small way to place it in front of you and memorize it.  Don’t make it a job.  Just a small challenge to yourself. 

Days of battle will come to you; it is raging in realms we can’t see. The Word is our Sword.  It is all we will need. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this.  Please pray for our family.  This is such a difficult time.

I encourage and challenge you to look up Ephesians 6:17 and write it down.  Ask God to show you ways to memorize it and hide it away in your heart. 

Other great scriptures to start memorizing include: 

Psalm 118:8

John 8:36

Isaiah 61:1

Deuteronomy 31:6

Psalm 119:11

Patty Lewis lives on the Space Coast of Florida with her Husband, Son and one cat.  She is a homeschool Momma, loves serving other Moms and Youth in her Church and community through encouragement in practical ways and enjoys reading, gardening, Disney, coffee, anything with her family and laughing really loud.

Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash