"Learn War"

Judges 3.1-2 NASU

Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan; only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might be taught war, those who had not experienced it formerly).

There is one thing every believer must learn… war.

The Lord did not drive the nations of Canaan from the land of promise until inexperienced “sons  of Israel might be taught war.” War was a reality for Jews over a millennium before the birth of Christ. It is still a reality for every believer. 

Jesus said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword”  (Matthew 10.34). We have dragons to slay, demons to crush, battles to win, ground to gain, and wars to learn. We must face the enemy, engage in conflict, and learn to fight for our inheritance.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,

against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness,

against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.”

Ephesians 6.12 The NET Bible

The difficult situations and persons in your life are there for a purpose. God will not remove them for us. Hard realities and challenges exist for the same reason the nations in the land of Canaan existed 3,400 years ago… that you “might be taught war.”

Yes, there are 'problem people,' but people are not the problem. Don’t make them the enemy. As Paul warned, your “struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against... spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.” The battle between good and evil exists primarily within ourselves. Externalizing evil by blaming others can actually create more evil of the kind we are trying to eradicate and compound the problems we hope to fix.   

The battle is in your mind. That’s where Satan directs his primary assault. Overcome him there. Nobody gets out of this life alive. Your time on earth will end as promised in the Word of God: “…it is appointed for mortals to die once” (Hebrews 9.27). Go out fighting for causes worth dying for.

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"The Archangel Michael" is on display at Our Lady of the Conception of the Capuchins in Rome and was painted by Italian Baroque painter Guido Reni in 1635.