The Spiritual Battlefield: Casualties, Conflict and Joy

As we approach Veterans Day, my mind naturally turns to thoughts about the veterans who have bravely served our country to secure our freedoms. Those we honor today are still with us, but there were others who paid the ultimate price.

I enjoy laughter and love life. I wish that every thought could be a happy one. But that is not the world in which we live. Ours is a day of spiritual warfare. The attack seems stronger than ever, and the casualties are great.

War is a terrible thing. Death is inevitable. Over 16 million people were killed in World War I. More than 75 million in World War II. 1.2 million in the Korean Conflict. 3.8 million in Vietnam. The death toll continues in armed conflicts today. We read the statistics, but one truth is most staggering: every number was an eternal soul.

Stand at the Vietnam Memorial and look at the names. Sit quietly in a veteran’s cemetery and look at the crosses. These are not the beginning of war’s casualties, and they are surely not the end. There is another death toll rising more rapidly than any other.

Casualties of Spiritual Warfare

How do you measure the death of a nation? No statistic can tell the full tale. The evening news cannot paint the picture. It is not merely physical, financial, or political—it is spiritual.

1. The death of unborn babies

In the United States, more than 63 million children have been aborted since Roe v. Wade in 1973. As innocent blood has been shed, the conscience of a nation has been put to death.

2. The death of the family

To drive through the average neighborhood today is to walk among the tombs. Marriage is being put to death. Homes are dying. The principle of authority is being destroyed. Even in Christian homes, parents are often putting to death the very things their children desperately need.

3. The death of innocence

Talk to a child or a teenager. For many, the innocence of youth is already gone, put to death by wicked men and immoral agendas. Purity is trampled. True love is unknown. Lust reigns in our generation.

4. The death of churches

Places that should be giving life are rapidly closing their doors. Many that look alive are only an empty shell. The form continues, but the power is gone. All that remains is the funeral.

5. The death of lost souls

Every minute, 107 people die. The vast majority of them never knew Christ. Only God knows the true death toll. Eternity will reveal the loss.

Spiritual Conflict

We are in a battle. Lester Roloff used to sing an old gospel song that said, “It’s a battlefield, brother, not a recreation room. It’s a fight and not a game! So run if you want to, run if you will. But I came here to stay!” Our generation would much rather have a recreation room. Give us the games, because there is little fight in us!

The problem with this, of course, is that the fight does not go away because we hunker down in the trenches. Our adversary keeps shooting his fiery darts. Casualties are falling all around. We have ignored the spiritual conflict, but it is hotter than it has ever been.

Some time ago, I sat in a coffee shop with a young man who is seeking direction for his life. Somewhere in the conversation, he commented on the spiritual battle that seemed to be raging. Such discernment is critical in this crisis hour. It is not about us. About pettiness and selfish ambition. About nations and political parties. It is not about time. It is about eternity.

Satan has launched an all-out attack on a holy God and those who follow Him. Thankfully, we know how this battle will end! The question then is: what is to be our mindset in the midst of the fight?

There are two extremes. Both are perilous

1. There are those who would prefer to ignore spiritual warfare.

Five times in the New Testament we find this interesting phrase: “flesh and blood.” Christ took on flesh and blood to bring us to God (Hebrews 2:14). We are told that flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50). The Lord Jesus reminded us that flesh and blood do not reveal spiritual truth (Matthew 16:17), and we should not get our orders for life from flesh and blood (Galatians 1:16). In each occasion we see the limits of flesh and blood!

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).

People want to live like flesh and blood is the only reality there is. We do not win God’s battles by force; they are not physical. Living a “flesh and blood life” will never produce spiritual victory. This will inevitably lead to disaster. The enemy would like nothing better than for you to think he is not real, or at least act like it.

2. There are some who get so consumed with the spiritual conflict that they lose sight of the victory

Yes, Satan is real. His attacks are strong. But “…greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4)“

Never forget it! Keep your eyes on your Captain and you will have what you need to face the adversary.  Do not live with morbid, melancholy thoughts about evil. The gospel is advancing! God is at work! The Holy Spirit is with you! Jesus is coming!

Joy in the Battle

Only in the army of Christ does the Commander promise joy in the battle! Think of it – joyful soldiers!  God’s soldiers endure hardness, but they do not get hard. Their hearts are kept soft and encouraged by their nearness to their Captain.

Joy does not come from ignoring the battle and refusing to take our place in the cause. Likewise, joy must not be laid aside to put on the whole armor of God. Joy is found in Jesus, and He is on the front lines. Where the battle is fiercest, you will find Him.

If you are a good soldier of Jesus Christ, expect to feel the heat of this conflict. The closer you get to the front lines, the more casualties you will see. Put on your spiritual armor. Stay alert and watchful. This is our moment to bring life into a world of death.

Take a stand against wickedness. Reach a family for Christ. Lovingly teach a child the truth. Encourage your pastor and fellow church members. Give someone the gospel. Where the attacks are strongest, we must not be weak.

The war will soon be over, and the Lord Jesus will make everything right. Do not give up in the middle of the conflict. His fight is a good fight—it is worth the strain and struggle. Shortly we will gather around the throne of God and enjoy Him forever.

Remember the words of missionary Robert Moffatt: “We have all eternity to celebrate our victories, but only one short hour before sunset in which to win them.”

And hear the happy, hopeful words of an old soldier of the cross: “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen” (Romans 16:20).

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About Scott Pauley