The Unseen War

December 2nd, 2016 was when I gave my life to Christ, and I can safely say that my life has never been the same. However, at first, I must admit there still were many skeptical thoughts and questions that plagued my mind in certain instances. I remember when my mentor first played me a worship song and the first thing I thought in my mind was, “What have I done? I’ve joined a cult,” while giving an outward smile and a confused nod of approval when asked what I thought of it.

I remember instantly when it played feeling something different internally. Of course, I’ve listened to gospel before, but somehow this time I felt it speaking to a deeper part of my being. 

Later on, I’d come to understand that the Holy Spirit, which resides within me, revealed to me the presence of God in a very tangible but unseen way. There was no denying that He was present. This left me curious.

Fasting, in the simplest terms, is removing something from your life that you think you need or believe that you can’t go without, and replacing that for an allotted period of time with devotion to God. This could be prayer, reading His Word, serving others in His name, etc. People often don't eat or drink, but as I said, you can also remove eating your favorite sweet or not watching your favorite TV show; either way, it shows sacrifice to Yahweh and in return, you receive deeper intimacy with Jesus and revelation of who He is for your life and those around you.

It was when I started to implement this spiritual discipline from the beginning of my walk with Jesus, through great discipleship, that my eyes really started to open to His presence and the things of the Spirit (the unseen).

Let me give you an example through a personal experience of mine to give more context:

I was at church… I’d say about a month or two into my walk with the Lord, and I remember I was in the middle of singing the first worship song and at a certain point everything around me got quiet. I wasn’t in the church sanctuary any longer, but my body was in this place that was completely white and bright, like lights all around me. I was then overcome with His total peace and joy.

Now get this… by the time I opened my eyes, worship was completely over. Everyone was sitting except for me, and the preacher was moments away from starting his sermon. After feeling kind of awkward—looking around and realizing I was the only one standing, then sitting and thinking to myself, "What was that?!"—I unpacked it later on and was amazed. God was kind to reveal Himself to me in this way, and another thing that I took away from this experience is that there is a realm that exists past the physical.

Therefore, I want to establish this week's devotionals in dedication to “The Unseen War.”

I think we could unanimously agree on this quote, and it goes as follows:

“It would be terrible to be in the middle of a battle, not knowing that you’re in one.”

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ—the one and only true living God—we know He is good and perfect in all of His ways. He wants nothing more than to see us live a purpose-driven life in this world, abiding in Him and bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth for souls to be saved through Jesus Christ. In a separate breath, there also is an opposing force that wants the complete opposite: the Devil. He wants you to fail and wants to kill every hope and plan God has for your life and those around you.

This week, we explore the realities of this unseen war and how Jesus covers us to combat the schemes of the enemy.

Know this, though: the Devil is fighting an already lost battle. Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection assures us of this. 

So, no need to worry.

Always Love, Shooters Family

Look forward to seeing everyone in the gym this week,

Joshua Wilchcombe