SINCE our life will always involve
some struggling in its
many areas and aspects, we need to train ourselves to be warriors, not
so much in the physical sense as in the spiritual and moral sense.
The Bible describes our life as some kind of warfare. We
are actually pitted against very powerful enemies. The world detached
from its creator, the devil who rebelled against God upon its creation
as angels, and our own flesh wounded by sin, make up our very
formidable nemeses, skilled in all kinds of wiles and tricks.
Yet, in spite of this chilling reality, we should never
forget that we will always have God on our side as long as we
correspond to his abiding presence in us and in the world, and to his
will and his ways that will always be full of wisdom and power.
There is nothing that these enemies can do to us that God
cannot prevent, or undo, or even derive a superior good from!
The fundamental attitude to develop should be that of
confidence and serenity, based on our faith in God, and with this
attitude, let us develop the appropriate skills involved in spiritual
warfare and moral combat, both in the areas of defense and offense. We
should have both the shield and the sword.
In this regard, it is always worthwhile to find time to be
able to pray, to develop a certain intimacy with God whom we tend to
ignore or at least to take for granted. May we learn to be aware of
his presence all the time, especially when weakness and temptations
assault us.
For sure, if we manage to truly pray, to enter into an
intimate conversation with God, we would become familiar with his will
and ways. We have been given his eternal word that reveals his mind
and heart to us.
It is always worth the effort to meditate on this word
that will show us how to live, how to think, speak, do, and how to
deal with our weakness, temptations, and our sins..
It is this word that tells us everything that we need to
grow to human and Christian maturity, and to protect us from the
enemies of our soul. This truth about God’s word to us should be
planted deep in our mind and heart as an unshakeable conviction, so we
avoid fear, doubt and hesitation as we wage our spiritual warfare.
In other words, to be good spiritual and moral warriors,
we have to use first of all the spiritual and supernatural means
provided for by God our Father himself. All the human means that we
also will use should only play a supporting role, to be resorted to
only at the instance of our estimation of God’s will and ways.
As one psalm puts it: “A king is not saved by his army,
nor a warrior by his strength… The Lord looks on those who revere him,
on those who hope in his love, to rescue their souls from death…” (32)
We should fix this fundamental truth first before we proceed with
whatever program we may follow to become spiritual warriors.
Indeed we have to avail ourselves of a certain plan or
regimen to go through our training of becoming strong spiritual
warriors. We need discipline, since we obviously have to contend with
the resistance, many times stiff, that our wounded flesh, let alone
the other enemies, can offer.
If only for the purpose of discipline, we have to realize
the need of certain exercises that are useful and necessary. These can
be fasting and abstinence, not only from some food and drinks, but
also from the many other goods and items that now flood our world.
But we have to see to it that these exercises would have
the over-all effect of gaining for us greater intimacy with God, and
because of God, also a greater desire to love, understand and serve
others.
Otherwise, if this effect is not attained, we would have
good reason that we are doing our self-discipline wrongly. We have to
correct our motives and intentions as soon as possible before we fall
into developing a strong dislike for these exercises which will
unavoidably come if they are resorted to with inadequate motives.
It’s important to remember that whatever mistakes, faults,
failures we encounter in our spiritual struggle, we simply should just
go on, learning as quickly as possible the lessons these falls give
us. Patience and perseverance hold the secret, since God never gives
up on us. It’s us who can give up on him.
many areas and aspects, we need to train ourselves to be warriors, not
so much in the physical sense as in the spiritual and moral sense.
The Bible describes our life as some kind of warfare. We
are actually pitted against very powerful enemies. The world detached
from its creator, the devil who rebelled against God upon its creation
as angels, and our own flesh wounded by sin, make up our very
formidable nemeses, skilled in all kinds of wiles and tricks.
Yet, in spite of this chilling reality, we should never
forget that we will always have God on our side as long as we
correspond to his abiding presence in us and in the world, and to his
will and his ways that will always be full of wisdom and power.
There is nothing that these enemies can do to us that God
cannot prevent, or undo, or even derive a superior good from!
The fundamental attitude to develop should be that of
confidence and serenity, based on our faith in God, and with this
attitude, let us develop the appropriate skills involved in spiritual
warfare and moral combat, both in the areas of defense and offense. We
should have both the shield and the sword.
In this regard, it is always worthwhile to find time to be
able to pray, to develop a certain intimacy with God whom we tend to
ignore or at least to take for granted. May we learn to be aware of
his presence all the time, especially when weakness and temptations
assault us.
For sure, if we manage to truly pray, to enter into an
intimate conversation with God, we would become familiar with his will
and ways. We have been given his eternal word that reveals his mind
and heart to us.
It is always worth the effort to meditate on this word
that will show us how to live, how to think, speak, do, and how to
deal with our weakness, temptations, and our sins..
It is this word that tells us everything that we need to
grow to human and Christian maturity, and to protect us from the
enemies of our soul. This truth about God’s word to us should be
planted deep in our mind and heart as an unshakeable conviction, so we
avoid fear, doubt and hesitation as we wage our spiritual warfare.
In other words, to be good spiritual and moral warriors,
we have to use first of all the spiritual and supernatural means
provided for by God our Father himself. All the human means that we
also will use should only play a supporting role, to be resorted to
only at the instance of our estimation of God’s will and ways.
As one psalm puts it: “A king is not saved by his army,
nor a warrior by his strength… The Lord looks on those who revere him,
on those who hope in his love, to rescue their souls from death…” (32)
We should fix this fundamental truth first before we proceed with
whatever program we may follow to become spiritual warriors.
Indeed we have to avail ourselves of a certain plan or
regimen to go through our training of becoming strong spiritual
warriors. We need discipline, since we obviously have to contend with
the resistance, many times stiff, that our wounded flesh, let alone
the other enemies, can offer.
If only for the purpose of discipline, we have to realize
the need of certain exercises that are useful and necessary. These can
be fasting and abstinence, not only from some food and drinks, but
also from the many other goods and items that now flood our world.
But we have to see to it that these exercises would have
the over-all effect of gaining for us greater intimacy with God, and
because of God, also a greater desire to love, understand and serve
others.
Otherwise, if this effect is not attained, we would have
good reason that we are doing our self-discipline wrongly. We have to
correct our motives and intentions as soon as possible before we fall
into developing a strong dislike for these exercises which will
unavoidably come if they are resorted to with inadequate motives.
It’s important to remember that whatever mistakes, faults,
failures we encounter in our spiritual struggle, we simply should just
go on, learning as quickly as possible the lessons these falls give
us. Patience and perseverance hold the secret, since God never gives
up on us. It’s us who can give up on him.
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