Pillow fights. A blessed part of growing up. You find the biggest, fluffiest (while still being easy to hold on to for battle purposes) pillow and assume the battle stance. Usually on top of a bed. If you didn't have a big enough bed, you piled all the blankets on the floor with the extra pillows and squared off. Cowboy style. Or perhaps Knight-in-Shining-Armor-Style. Take your pick.
When the battle commenced, fits of laughter and muffled thumps of pillows could be heard throughout the house. Victory was achieved when one lay on the floor laughing uncontrollably with the other person planting their foot victoriously onto the other's chest, striking a haughty pose while trying to also contain their laughter.
I was usually the person laying on the floor. And here's why:
For whatever reason, I was a horrible Swords-woman. (Or Pillows-woman?). I had this problem where I would swing, but I didn't block. My brain had a frustratingly terrible time telling my arms to bring the pillow up in front of my face to block the next blow. I just went in swinging until I couldn't swing anymore. I exhausted myself. When that happened, my opponent saw the opportunity and the retaliation came full force. But instead of raising the pillow up and blocking the blow - as any logical person would do - , I did the first thing that came to mind:
I closed my eyes.
Now tell me, what the heck kind of good does that do? It only meant that Icouldn't see what was coming. Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean its not happening.
No matter how hard I would close my eyes, the blow would still come. I would still get a mouthful of pillow. And soon enough, my pillow would fall to the floor out of my exhausted grip and I would follow right behind it - giggling as my opponent stood over me, gloating about their victory.
I was reading Ephesians the other day and I couldn't help but relate it to this. Paul tells the Ephesians they need to take up the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Belt of Truth, put on the Sandals of Peace and take up the Shield of Faith...and that's where I stopped. The Shield of Faith.
In Biblical times, the soldiers understood the importance of a shield. I read recently that some days, soldiers would come in from battle with over 200 arrows in their shield. If they hadn't had their shield, that would have been200 arrows in their body! And I'm pretty sure, that would mean that they wouldn't be walking in from battle.
I realized that is where my problem lay. I dropped my pillow. I spent so much time attacking, that by the time it came to protect myself, I was too worn out to lift the pillow in my own defense. Instead, I just closed my eyes. So, with my pillow-shield on the floor, and my eyes closed, I would take the blows. And eventually, on the floor I would be.
What I need to do instead, is paint that pillow with the Truth that God has given me. Instead of exhausting myself, I must confidently raise my shield - blaring the Truth of God back in the Enemy's face. I want that Truth and that claim to resonate so loudly that the arrows don't just stop IN my shield, they do a 180 and go back where they came from!
Everyday we are fighting a battle. But unfortunately this battle is not done with pillows and blankets. It is a divine battle, a spiritual battle. One that, if we are not aware of it, is soon going to leave us on the floor with our victor standing over us, gloating...
...but it doesn't have to be that way. We have the equipment to fight, andfight we must! Even when it's exhausting. Even when defeat might seem inevitable. We must remember Who is fighting alongside us.
Hold up your shield. Remember His Truth. Fight like you have divine strength.Because you DO.
"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight we are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments andevery pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, we take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ."
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
