I am typing this article while in Canberra. Because of my work I do a lot of traveling. I speak at many places and I attend various conferences and seminars and rallies. While I much prefer to stay at home and live a quiet and peaceful life, the urgency of the hour compels me to keep active in this way.
As I have written before, those who are pro-faith, pro-life and pro-family know that there is a war going on. There are battles raging all around us. No one who is concerned about faith, life and family can idly sit by while the bullets are flying and the casualties are mounting.
Because those who are opposed to faith, life and family are so active, so dedicated and so committed to their cause, that is all the more reason why we should be to our cause. If for no other reason than our children and our grandchildren, we should all be involved in these various battles.
We should all want to leave the world a better place for our children and our grandchildren. Because we care, we get involved. That will take us out of our comfort zones. That will result in many people rejecting us. That will mean we will have to pay a price to see victory attained.
Wars are never easy and they tend to not be very short-lived. A victory may seem to have occurred, yet it may turn out that a larger conflict ensues. Margaret Thatcher once said that “We may have to fight a battle more than once to win it”.
Most things which are important in life have to be worked at. Most worthwhile things will be costly. Anything of value will have to be fought for. When Winston Churchill became Prime Minister his first speech was delivered on May 13, 1940.
Of course England was at war then. The very survival of the English nation was at stake. In his speech he memorably said, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” There is always a cost to pay for any victory in earthly wars, and the same is true in the spiritual realm.
As I type this piece, in the room immediately next to me a group of believers are crying out to God in song, worship, supplication, tears and repentance. They are engaging in spiritual warfare on behalf of the nation. People are on their knees broken before God, calling out to him, seeking his face.
The specific reason for this time of intercession and spiritual warfare is because tomorrow we will go to Parliament House to celebrate National Marriage Day. It should be a celebration, but we know it will be more than that. It will be a battle. There are enemies of marriage and family who are intent on destroying these institutions which God has blessed us with.
There will likely be activists out in force tomorrow seeking to break up this meeting, shout down the speakers, and intimidate the participants. You see, there is a war going on. The battle over marriage and family is just one of the many battles in this large and protracted war.
So I and many others have left the comforts and pleasures of home to come to Canberra to show the nation that we care about marriage and family, and we will not give them up without a fight. The battle will not be won or lost tomorrow. Tomorrow will just be one of many thousands of skirmishes in the greater war.
But in any war, the side that is really committed, dedicated, persistent, and willing to pay the price is the side most likely to win. The sad truth is, far too many battles have been lost by default. Those who should be championing faith, life and family often do not even know these battles are taking place.
Or if they do, they often do not want to get involved. They prefer their personal comforts and security to the messy and harsh conditions of the battlefield. Or they think someone else can fight for them. But the reality is, in a war, no one has the luxury of sitting on the fence. We all must get involved. No one can simply sit on the sidelines and expect the battle to go well.
I write all this especially because of what my morning Scripture reading led me to. It had to do with how Saul rejected God, so God rejected Saul. The kingdom was taken away from Saul and given to David. But the enmity continued.
I was quite taken how 2 Samuel 3:1 put it: “The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time. David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.” Interestingly, just the other day someone asked me how I keep going, how I keep at it, instead of just giving up.
I assured him that there are plenty of times when I do indeed feel like giving up. I get easily discouraged and depressed. But a passage like this speaks to a much greater truth than just what took place some three millennia ago.
The war between good and evil, between what God is seeking to achieve and what the adversary is seeking is an ongoing battle. But the believer has the last word on all this. We know that in the end, God wins. Victory is indeed assured.
So even though the battle is long, protracted, and seemingly never going to be finally won, we know that in the end it will be won. But in the meantime we must keep at it. We must be involved, we must persevere, and we must be willing to pay the price.
With so much at stake, we can do no less.
(Concluding note: The completion of this article was delayed by an hour, because the believers in the room next door called me in so that they could pray for me. They prayed for God’s covering, protection, encouragement and blessing. I must say, it is not often my article writing is interrupted by a room full of believers who want to pray for me and lift me up to Father God. I wish it would happen more often. Thanks saints!)
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