Subdue

Subdue

Since childhood I have been moved by injustice. When I see things in the world like child prostitution, racism, religious oppression, etc, I am moved and I want to do something about it. When time passes and my passion dies down I realize what really can I do? It is way beyond my control. But is it? Well, I have discovered that these desires are in me because my creator is a God of justice, and He has given the earth to man to stewart. It is my responsibility to do something about these things. Well, what is that something. Individuals throughout history such as Mother Theresa, Ghandi, Martin Luther King, have stood against injustice, and done much good and they inspire me greatly, but still what can I really do?

The bible says the battle is not mine but the Lord's. Does that mean then that I can just sit back and let the Lord take care of everything? No, for He has given man the responsibility of taking care of the earth. God moves as I choose to move in obedience to Him. God alone can bring the victory, but I am the instrument He uses through my obedience to His word. I need to follow through with the desires He has placed in my heart and by faith step out and He will meet me and work through me to accomplish only what He can do. For Daniel 11:32 says the people who know their God will do great exploits.

The enemy leaves us alone when we are not doing anything for the Kingdom but as soon as we make up our mind to be obedient to God all hell breaks loose. This is where we have to exercise our authority and as it says in Genesis 1:28 subdue which means to put the enemy in his place. Right from the beginning we see things were not perfect in the Garden, for there was an enemy. God made man for relationship and a relationship can only be sincere if one has the freedom to choose to have it or not. God allowed the enemy to be cast down to earth so man could be tempted and choose either to have a relationship with Him or to live separate from Him. That is the purpose of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, to give man a choice so they can operate in their own free will. The enemy uses our free will to entice us to be separate from God. The enemy as we see through the snake in the garden is cunning and bends the truth just slightly to lure us into being his victim of deceit. For it says in 2 Corinthians 11:4 that Satan himself comes as an angel of light.

God has given us the Holy Spirit to reveal all truth, expose all lies, and give us spiritual weapons for the pulling down of strongholds. These gifts are given to empower us supernaturally against every plan of the enemy so that we no longer have to be ignorant of Satan's devices (2 Cor. 2:11). These gifts include words of wisdom, words of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, diverse kinds of tongues and the interpretation of tongues. We are no longer limited to our natural abilities we have the supernatural power of God. So if we are serious about being an instrument of God for Kingdom Advancement, then we know Satan will oppose us, so we got to be ready. We need to be ready for battle at all times, for 2 Timothy 2:3-4 says to endure suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ for soldiers do not get caught up in the affairs of civilian life for they cannot please the officer whom enlisted them.

We cannot waste our time like the world dealing with arguments, strife and conflict at a natural level. For as Ephesians 6:10-18 states the battle we face is not with flesh and blood it is with but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. God has given us His Spiritual armor to stand strong against and His Spiritual weapons to pull down every stronghold (2 Cor. 10:4) of the enemy so God's kingdom can advance throughout the earth until the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our God (Rev. 11:15).

Our spirit led obedience enables victory to God's holy angelic host against the hordes of Satan. We must see ourselves daily as God's soldiers, who wake up each day with the desire to be used by God to destroy darkness? Most of us are just caught up in our own little world concerned about all of our little problems, getting by, making it through, just surviving. God did not create us to survive, but to thrive. Not to just exist but to co-exist with Him. Which means to rule and reign with Him, not in the world to come, but in the world that is. Matthew 11:12 says the kingdom of God suffers violence but the violent take it by force. How often do we get to a place of warfare in prayer? We pray personal prayers, general prayers, but how often are we in a place where God is using us to pin point the enemy, like a sniper, where we lock target and really see results. I have only entered that place a few times in my Christian walk, where a boldness came over me and it was no longer myself praying but the spirit of God warring against the enemy, spiritual discernment followed, and real transforming prayers came forth. Now that we have been enlisted in God's army if Satan cannot destroy us, he will do everything he can to cause us to go awol, in which he has done a good job in that.

Naturally there is very little I can do in regards to the condition of this world, but spiritually through my prayers and faithful obedience I can be a world changer right now.

Challenge: Let's repent for our busyness in church activity and neglect of spiritual warfare. Trying to do so many good works but nothing really getting done. Fighting our battles in our own flesh instead of putting on our spiritual armor and not using the spiritual weapons that God has given for the pulling down of strongholds. Let's deepen our prayer life to the point where God moves us past our personal, general prayers, to spiritual warfare and pulling down strongholds. Let us re-enlist into God's army and put civilian life behind.