Fighting Smart For JusticePeter Stanley - 15 Jun 2011

Sometimes life just doesn’t work out… steps get heavier and all that seemed exciting becomes a trudge. Maybe you’re having an off day or maybe it just isn’t meant to be. However, when you start something that you believe to be a call from God, don’t you think someone else will be wanting you to do the opposite? The simple truth is the battle is most often in your mind and your emotions and it comes in specific ways.

Once you recognize those ways, you’ll have the key to outlasting them.

In justice issues, the opposition is often linked to the cause involved. For example, when fighting human trafficking, you will be likely to get bouts of oppression, guilt and shame. Those are the forces involved in human trafficking and they are the ones you have declared war on. So it’s no wonder they’ll fight back. The oppression comes often out of a clear blue sky and you slow down, losing energy and feeling guilty at your lack of progress, which brings guilt and shame. The very problems we fight come back to attack us, yet we most often don’t spot them unless we are prepared. We think its something we’ve done wrong and accept the blame ourselves. Enemy 1 : Us nil.

Take another example; working with prisoners and ex-offenders. Their issue is hopelessness; hopelessness at society being seemingly against them, never giving them a chance. So start working to help in that area and sooner or later you’ll have to face feelings of hopelessness, yourself. 

Recognising these attacks gives us a valuable key to overcoming them. In all battles, the first step is to recognize your enemy. Then you pray and look to God to defeat your enemy. If God asked you to do the task, he will surely give you the resources and protection to see it through. So, when you next feel a struggle coming on and there’s no obvious reason for it, look around and see if the enemy is in your armour; recognize it and work with God to defeat it.

There’s so much good to be done, so lets fight smart!