In this day and age, it’s not a stretch to say that a lot of people are experiencing a sort of crisis of faith. Beyond the culture wars and whatnot that we’re seeing a lot of right now in the news and even in our own homes, it can be easy to feel defeated and almost without purpose. Unfortunately, this really does seem to be by design by the higher ups and those who wish to quash our faith.
Recognizing that this is going on is the tough part, though. If you’re not familiar, it’s often referred to as spiritual warfare. You see, there is a very real battle going on right now between the forces of good and evil, and that’s a simple definition of this type of battle. As you can see here, https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/what-spirituality, spirituality is a large part of our very being.
How then, can we defend it and recognize when we need to take up the mantle of spiritual warfare to do so? That’s what we’ll be discussing here today, so make sure to stick around. Sometimes it can be difficult, but it’s well worth it in the end.
Understand the Importance of a Spiritual Battle
Each day, even if we do not realize it, we are fighting spiritual battles. The trouble is, a lot of the time it is an internal struggle, as we must fight against the bad within ourselves. When we are able to do so, and good is able to triumph, we are able to get closer to God and feel stronger in out faith. That is the point of these battles.
One of the first steps that you will need to take is to accept that the spiritual war is happening in the first place. Otherwise, it is nigh impossible to accept that you must expunge any of the sin that might be inside of you. The next thing to do is work against that, and instead dedicate yourself to piety and goodness.
It’s difficult, though, there is no denying that. The thing is, there is also a sort of fake system at work, and it’s trying to stifle your faith entirely. Because it is doing its best to create fear and panic, it’s all-too easy for us to lose sight of what really matters. That is why it is our duty to fight in the spiritual war whenever we are able to.
How to Fight
Of course, the next question that we need to ask ourselves is how we can join in the battle against the evils in the world. Perhaps one of the most important things to do is to limit your screen time each day. While it can be a bit of a challenge to do this, especially given that many of us work with technology or use it during out down time, it is critical to understand that we can at least lessen the apparent omnipresence of screens in our homes.
What should we do instead, then? You can read about it on this page, but one option that we all have is to place a higher emphasis on “play” in our lives. Of course, this raises the question…what is “play?”
Laughter and smiles are a huge aspect of this, along with the love that we share for our fellow humans. Spend some time expressing that love to your family members and your friends. Get a board game and enjoy it with them. Talk to each other. Ask how their day was, and spend a good amount of time just keeping them company. Make sure that you’re truly listening to them, too – you’ll probably find that you really enjoy hearing them speak.
Too many of us spend our days barely even acknowledging our loved ones because we are too absorbed in whatever our screens are showing us. Disconnecting and unplugging for a while is a great way to nurture the spirit and the body at the same time. Try to set some time aside each and every day to escape the claws of the digital world.
Strong Emotions are Critical
This is the part of spiritual warfare that seems to take most people by surprise, so let us take some time to dwell on it. At first glance, it may appear that rejecting strong emotions is the key to staving off the temptations of sin and evil. However, this is quite far from the truth.
You see, as is outlined here, https://davidjeremiah.blog/8-signs-youre-in-a-spiritual-battle-and-how-to-win/, it’s good that we accept the strong emotions that we feel on a daily basis. Fearing them would be far worse at the end of the day, as fear is one of the ways that evil is able to permeate through the rest of our lives.
Even the small feelings that pass us by can be important, though, so don’t let those go either. Accept them for what they are, and work through why you’re experiencing them. Once you have done that, you’ll have a better handle on how to control your own experiences and thoughts. After all, it is us who is in charge of what we are thinking in a given moment.
Spiritual warfare is a complicated thing, and it isn’t always easy to accept our part in it. However, when we are able to acknowledge the war between good and evil and combat that badness inside of ourselves, we are meaningfully contributing.
