When the Dragon Fights Back

This particular sin-dragon is stubborn. It doesn't want to die. Maybe part of me is holding on to it, feeding it in the shadows of my heart. Maybe it's bigger and stronger than the others. Just when I think this dragon is nearly dead, it opens its yellow eyes and gives yet another fiery blast. In shame, I look upon the damage I have caused. I am embarrassed that it happened...again. Why won't the victory come quickly? Why does it have to be so drawn out?

Some sin-dragons die quickly when we lay them down in repentance at Jesus' feet. Sometimes we get complete and instantaneous victory. Other times it's a long series of battles...over and over and over.

The bad news: The battle is exhausting. It can take every ounce of our strength.

The good news: The battle has already been won. Jesus has already conquered sin and death. We just might have to wait awhile to see it with our own eyes.

The Apostle Paul had these same struggles...

"So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin." --Romans 7:21-25 ESV (emphasis added)

Our sin nature wants to rule our earthly bodies. It wars against the Holy Spirit who lives inside us. In this life, we will constantly struggle against sin. Our sin-dragons may still be active, but they have received a mortal wound. It is just a matter of time until their final demise. 

What do we do in the meantime?

We wage war!!

"For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete." --2 Corinthians 10:3-6 ESV (emphasis added)

1. Surrender daily to God

"My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." --Galatians 2:20 ESV

That old sin-dragon (which is part of us) wants to rear its ugly head. We must surrender ourselves to God each morning...sometimes each hour and each minute. We must "die" to ourselves, our wants, our temptations.

2. Arm yourself for battle.

Dragons are protected by thick scales, and they have sharp teeth and claws to aid their fiery breath. We need serious weapons against this kind of monster. Bare hands and human strength just won't do the job. Fortunately, God has provided us with the perfect arsenal in Ephesians 6.

• The belt of truth: By digging into God's Word, we allow His truth to replace the lies we have believed...the lies that feed our sin-dragons. ("You're not good enough"..."It's not worth the fight"..."It's too hard")
• The breastplate of righteousness: We can never meet God's standards in our own strength. BUT, Christ offers His righteousness to us. We simply accept it by faith!
• The shoes of the gospel of peace: We must always keep in mind the foundation of the Gospel...We sinned, God loved us anyways, He paid the price of our sin, He forgives us when we ask. 
• The shield of faith: With faith, the dragon's fiery breath can't devour us. When we keep our eyes on Jesus, the fiery darts are extinguished.
• The helmet of salvation: Head injuries are devastating. Without a clear mind, we don't know where to go or how to fight. We must renew our minds daily in the Word of God. His truth purifies our thoughts. 

You might have noticed that all of the above items are defensive. They are vital to warfare, but they don't actually inflict injury on the enemy. God saved the best for last. He gave us the most powerful weapon of all...

• The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God

Just as Jesus fought Satan's temptations by quoting Scripture, we can do the same.

Find a passage that deals with your particular sin-dragon. Write it on a 3x5 card. Post it everywhere. Memorize it. Whenever the dragon rears its ugly head, pray through that verse.

Just like the vorpal sword wanted to kill the Jabberwocky, the Word of God wants to defeat our sin-dragons. We must be like Alice...we must pull out our Sword and let It do its work.



--Carol