But how do we get to that place? That place of peace ruling in our hearts. That place of an unburdened yoke. It has to start with a transformation from a worrier into a warrior. The dictionary defines a warrior as:
A person engaged or experienced in warfare; soldier.
We are soldiers in the army of God. But our weapons are not of this world:
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2Corinthians 10: 3-5
Boiled down to its simplest form, those thoughts that the enemy uses against us to trap us in our worry are arguments and pretensions set up against the knowledge of God. When the devil reminds you of your past, you need to remind him of his future! Your past is paid, your present is protected and your future is promised. The image we see when we think of a warrior is one of physical strength but God wants spiritual strength, which is found through faith. The doctor's report came back negative again? I am going to believe in God. Turned down for another job? I am going to believe in God. The warrior in combat follows the instructions of his commander. The commander has the plan, not the soldier. Well, God is our Commander in Chief and the Bible is His plan. It would seem wise then that we study the plan if we expect to wrest the victory from the enemy. Too often we do not know the plan and hide it in our hearts. If we did then when the enemy presents a lie for us to consider, we will dismiss it because the plan reveals the lie. The argument is in opposition to the knowledge of God (the Bible) and therefore it must be brought into obedience with Christ. Lastly, the warrior serves the master. He does not act on his own. He does not freelance. He does not engage in a conversation with the enemy. That is why he is called the enemy! We serve the Master through prayer. We discover specific plans, strengthen our faith, and allow God to reveal Himself to us through an active prayer life. A true warrior is not on the horse he is on his knees.
Jesus had two friends who He visited one day. Martha was the worrier:
But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" Luke 10:40
Note the word "distracted" because that is what the enemy is trying to do when he gets you to worry. As long as you are worried about your situation then you are distracted from Jesus. As long as you are focused on yourself you cannot be focused on God. Her sister Mary on the other hand, was the warrior:
