Let that thought sink in for a second.
For a few Christians such as myself, we always fight the battle from the front, where the people we love are perfectly behind us, and witness the celebrations and the cheer from behind, where we can always oversee everything and ensure that the people we love, nurture, teach and protect can express themselves without facing the horrible reality of combat.
Many Christians are a good bunch - they love each other genuinely, and they love other people. Sure, they may be a few exceptions (no-one is perfect; as long as we're in the flesh, we will always have to combat sin). They do their best to live out their newly-found Christian lives, expressing their love of Christ to the world in a small flickering flame to a giant bonfire that is found in churches and larger congregations.
These Christians are the regular ones. They're comparable to sheep, since they cannot be expected to be able to defend their spiritual faith against a concentrated attack by a skilled enemy combatant, or their physical selves against an assailant.
And, being a person who can somewhat see with physical and spiritual eyes, I will be discussing the spiritual side of the fight.
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The Devil is a crafty fellow.
He's also a fairly smart one - he's a master tactician.
He doesn't attack the strong and entrenched... directly.
Instead, he targets the weak ones, like a lion target its prey.
"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings." -- 1 Peter 5:8-9
As much as 1 Peter warns us about the method of targeting, many saints and followers of Christ have not solidified their faith.
This can happen to anyone.
How so?
The Devil attacks the strong chain by corroding the weakest link.
That weak link may be the friend of someone who invited them.
It may be the emotionally weak sister who is struggling to attain that stability.
Maybe it's a brother whose friends have slowly displaced his footing, and have caused him to fall.
In either case, a successful attack will create a 'walking wounded' Christian - a Christian who feels as if their faith is empty.
This can happen to anyone.
The walking wounded lives a life in which they still love God, but the burden they carry is too great.
It's a heavy burden, comparable to actually being injured - as the physical body cannot perform optimally under injury, neither can the spiritual body.
To a person who can see such a deteriorated state, it's a bit devastating to see someone fall from their perch, and break their legs upon landing.
Regardless of a person's strength, if the weakest link in the chain breaks, then the chain will fall apart.
This is why the walking wounded as such great tools in Satan's arsenal: by attacking the weakest person in the group, he can simultaneously attack and weaken everyone, making people more vulnerable to sin.
However, there is a cure!
Praise the Lord that there is a cure.
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” -- Matthew 11:29-30
The Lord is a great bearer of heavy stuff.
He bore our sins (which is something in itself, considering you may be sinning right now, and we all will continue to do so for the rest of our time on this earth), so why won't people allow Him to bear their infirmities?
Well, this verse is one of those many things that is more easier said than done.
Us human beings love vanity and value our pride more than anything: we attempt all things to solve our own problems without involving anyone else, because any external assistance would damage our rather fragile sense of pride and dignity.
Therefore, many people know they have a problem; it's just that they don't really want to bring it to the Lord, because they think they can solve it on their own.
The Lord is a marvelous doctor.
For those of us who can, our job is as soldiers and as medics.
Our job as soldiers is to protect the weaker ones under us from Satan's attacks through fellowship and prayer.
Our job as medics is to take care of the wounded, and bring them back to God, where He can allow the healing to begin.
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." -- James 5:16
"My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins." -- James 5:19-20
-A. L. Balatayo
