Pack Your Baggage, HoneySample

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor 10:3-5). 

One lesson we learn from studying David’s battle with Goliath is the importance of knowing who the enemy is. Before ever going into battle with Goliath, David assessed the enemy. He recognized Goliath was not one of God’s chosen, and he knew Goliath was fighting against the armies of the living God. David also knew that victory belonged to the Lord, and with God’s help, David could conquer this giant of a man. Just as David did with Goliath, we have to know our enemy, the devil, is powerless against the weapons of warfare our Heavenly Father has given us. 

How then does recognizing the enemy’s efforts to sabotage our faithful walk help us to dump emotional baggage?  For the most part, our hearts are strong, but often there are several weakened portions where hurts have been, where emotional baggage has caused damage. Often, these areas are weakened because of someone else’s actions or words; but regardless of the cause, the result is weakness. So each time the enemy’s arrow is lobbed toward a weakened area, the wound is reopened. Constant reopening of the wound keeps our hearts weakened and defenseless. 

The enemy knows this, and so he lobs his fiery arrows, knowing where our most defenseless parts are located. Just one well-placed and obscure arrow can keep us from experiencing God’s blessing as we follow God’s call. What the enemy doesn’t count on is that we have weapons of warfare as believers that are “divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses” (2 Cor. 10:4). 

The informed believer is a formidable and challenging foe. We find strength as we understand this truth: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). Just imagine how much the enemy can gain if we aren’t tuned into the truth of who the real enemy is.