The War Game

The Christian life is like being in a video game. You search your whole life for the secret of life and finally find what makes life worth living, what brings you peace, what brings out love: The sacrifice of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit as a guide. You are so in awe that you decide to dedicate your life to Him. Then, after a while, you notice a change, a shift in your dynamic as if there is more than one realm to this world of yours. Your life revolves around Him and you are overflowing with love for your fellow man and a deep sense of peace. Your life went from the worldly realm to a great spiritual realm that you did not know existed.

Your eyes are on the prize, God, but everything in the world is becoming more complicated. Life brings you one distraction after another. You think you are on the right track, and BAM! a distraction comes hurling past, or it actually hits you or it slows down enough to enter your space and connect with you in a meaningful way all of which throws you off course. It could be a good thing, just a normal thing, like a job or person, or it could be easy to conquer, like a friend, an event or a moment of sadness, or it could be monumental and require all of your attention like a loved one relationship issue, a painful experience or an addiction.

All distractions are meant to test your ability to see the truth of the situation and respond without losing your Christ-like view. Some distractions are meant to stay in your life and are innocent, some things randomly hurl into your life but are not meant to stay. They are there to distract you from your course and peace, if you let it. Some distractions are intentionally used by the evil one to throw you into turmoil or self doubt and distract you from your life with God. It is your task to stay entered through-out the game. Even the battle to stay centered can be enough to send you into a tailspin.

All distractions come in various levels and degrees of severity and may be combined with other levels. It is your job to use God’s wisdom and prayer to battle through it. Here are some, but not all ways in which you do battle:

·         Some events/distractions are natural experiences, not 'sent' by anyone but simply part of life. It is your task to distinguish what type it is and maintain your balance. Your level of interaction and possible battle is determined by the level of distraction that it takes.

·         Some distractions are inadvertent and not meant to be yours. The distraction may be meant to be the other person’s journey and distraction, but it simply hurls into your orbit momentarily and inadvertently knocks you off course, or tries to.

·         Some distractions may be sintentional: simple but intentional. Something used to throw you off track on purpose. The distraction could use people you know and love, even other Christians, to throw you off track. It could be your love of music, food, vanity, friends, partying, sexual desire, or your self-doubt, insecurities, jealousy, etc but it takes a deeper meaning and becomes a distraction from Christ.

·         Some distractions are monumental and knock you completely off your orbit. The loss of a loved one, an addiction, relationship issues that cause damage exponentially to you and your family. These require deep prayer and daily battles to win the skirmishes and keep your peace through Christ who strengthens you.

In each situation, you have to conquer each distraction at its smallest part so that it cannot grow in size and overtake your spiritual world. You MUST keep your balance and God as your center.

As you live in the worldly realm but maintain your balance in the spiritual world, you can become confused. All of these other people may be used to distract you and don’t necessarily share your battles in the same way. It is imperative that you lovingly deal with each person so that you maintain your peace but show them the light.  Here are only a few types that have been added to the game:

The dead: Some people seem to just float through life with no struggles at all and they don't notice the spiritual battle. Or maybe they have nothing but battles but they don’t see them for what they are. They are dead in Christ, not yet called, if ever they will be. To them, the world is just the world and they bask in it as it is, oblivious to any spiritual battles. They live by whatever makes them happy in the moment and in the worldly realm. They are doomed, unless something or someone intervenes by the grace of God.

The sleeping: These are people who float in and out of Christianity and may or may not have truly found salvation and truth. It is hard to know where they land in the scheme of things. They may say they are Christian but show no outward sign of spiritual life or change. They don’t have any interest, or it is fleeting, in His word, His purpose for their life or His interaction in their world. They, too, may face distractions or battles and be used against you.

The deserter: Someone who once fought on the side of the Lord. Who once called themselves a Christian, but life happened and they blamed the Lord. Their perspective is that He is responsible for all worldly happenings and should intervene to make the world heaven on earth for them. Human behavior and free will have no accountability in their book. Or perhaps they came to the part where they discovered that being a true Christian required change. One cannot live in the dark or be filled with darkness, and claim to be of the light. One cannot continue in sin and self indulgence and be of the light so they walked away and blamed everyone, including God, instead of just saying, “I would rather die than have to change my worldly ways.” These people can be dangerous. They know enough and are bitter enough to intentionally derail your journey.

The knights: We seem to be at war with the worldly distractions at every turn. We live and work in the world which challenges us forever to be more like Christ and overcome our wounds and scars from the past. We make strides in progress because we have so much ground that we must cover on a daily basis. There is no pride here, simply humility because we know we will always have something that we need to work on. For this reason, and because we are so determined to do nothing but transcend who we were and serve God, we appear to be targeted by distraction more frequently. If you are striving for nothing in the spiritual realm, the evil one won’t bother with you as much, except for a laugh or two.

The Saints: Some people feel overwhelmed because they always seem to be in battle and yet have the good fortune to stay centered. We see them from the outside and think they have it all together. They hold their wounds close and never let you see their pain nor let you see when they are in battle. These people keep others at an arms length, as if living up to a standard that doesn’t exist. They can be of any temperament or personality but still can be used to distract you. Just the nature of appearing unflappable and better than can cause you to compare yourself and kindle doubt. This, in itself, is a distraction.

What is the purpose of the game? What is the actual prize? There are always incentives along the way. Each time you conquer a distraction or skirmish that you have with a worldly thing, you gain power. Each time you conquer doubt and weakness, you gain peace and love. Each time you defeat the evil one, you gain momentum. Each time you push into a relationship with the Lord, despite the battle around you, you learn to see and hear the Lord guiding you, through the Holy Spirit. Consider Him your own Holy Spiritual guide. Each time you not only fight and win, but serve God’s purpose for your life, you win more souls for God. You gain more allies in the battle. In the end, you are given eternal life for serving Him in this world and winning souls for His Kingdom.

Ask yourself where you are at in the game. What side are you really on? Where is your focus? Are you calling yourself a Christian but working for the other side? Are YOU the distraction for the enemy? Are you a deserter? Have you walked away from the fight to just live in the world thinking it was easier?

It is a war. It is a daily battle. Don’t kid yourself. Know that you are not alone. Millions of people live in this world and playing out some variation of this game. You are never alone and you may travel between extremes but know this: God loves you. He will always love you. He will always pursue you. His goal is always to win you and make you successful in His kingdom. If He calls you to it, He will give you the tools to do it. He WILL call the weakest among us to use for His purposes. So YES, you are doing His will if you are staying in the battle.