It’s time for battle. When I think of the happenings of the last week, I can only conclude it’s time for action, time for drastic measures to turn our nation from the anger and hatred that is driving vitriol and violence.

I’m grieved by the deaths and the responding expressions of anger, bitterness, and hatred. I’m also deeply concerned about what it says about the heart and soul of our nation.

However, I’m heartened by the courage of those who have spoken out to bring understanding and unity. While there are elements which are trying to divide our country, I believe the great majority want to work for understanding, healing, and unity.

Meanwhile, how do we make sense of it all? How do we rebuild respect for one another and for life? What can I–one little person–do to make a difference?

While processing these and many other questions, I’ve written a couple of posts and mentally outlined more, but I trashed them all. Ultimately, I decided my thoughts don’t really matter.

What matters, is what God is saying in response to my questioning cries. He spoke to me on two fronts.

FIRST: It’s time to take up arms and go to battle–on a spiritual level, not in the streets.

God said:

• “If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now My eyes shall be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place” (2 Chr. 7:14-15).
• “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).
• “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:19).

As a nation, by condoning murder of unborn babies, we’ve loosed a spirit of murder. We are also under attack by spirits of anger, fear, judgment, bitterness, hatred, strife, division, and so forth. We need to ask the Lord to bind the evil spirits and loose opposing righteous spirits, those of compassion, love, peace, unity, and so forth as the spirit leads.

It’s time to take the spiritual authority that is ours in Christ and fight for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:9-10)

SECOND: We need more love, compassion, respect, unity, and such to truly turn things around. How do we make that happen?

The Lord told me, “Start with yourself.”

• Do you love your neighbor as yourself? (Mar. 12:31) With 1 Corinthians 13 love?
• Do you reach out to others who are different to get to know them better?
• Are you free of judgment? (Matt. 7:1-3).
• What are you doing to promote peace where you live?  (Ps. 34:14-15).
• Have your forgiven those who have offended you?  (Matt. 18:21-22)    (Matt. 6:14-15)
• Have you offended someone and need to make things right with them? (Matt. 5:23-24).
• And so forth.

Global change happens only as individuals change. How can I point fingers at others, if I’m not making changes myself?

Grace is available to children of God to lead the way, to represent the love and life of God, even when it’s difficult. Now is the opportunity to be light in the midst of darkness.

Jesus said, “from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force (Matt. 11:12). It’s time for the children of God to become violent (forceful) in dealing with our own sins and shortcomings. It’s time for us to take the log out of our own eye (Matt. 7:3-5) so we can be effective representatives of God to the world.

• “The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in time of trouble. And the Lord helps them, and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked, and saves them, Because they take refuge in Him” (Ps. 37:39-40).

The day of handling our own problems hasn’t worked. It’s ended in disaster.

I am a nobody in the scheme of things, but I belong to Someone with power and authority, Someone who speaks and things happen. Someone who is my refuge, strength, help, and deliverer.

The problem is that the all-powerful God leaves us to our own devices until we turn to Him. He doesn’t go to battle for us when we think we can do it on our own.

Will you join in the battle? Will you cry out for His kingdom to be established among us? Without Jesus Christ in the lead, it seems a lost cause. But nothing is too difficult for Him (Jer 32:7). All things are possible (Matt. 19:26).