"Oh when the Saints, go marching in! Oh when the Saints go marching in! Oh Lord I want to be in that number, when the Saints go marching in!"
This song was used for funeral marches, as a procession would escort the deceased to the cemetery for burial. It offers the beautiful thought of joining the Lord's host of Saints and Believers after death, and becoming one of God's Army once we return home.
As I learn more and more about God in my life, I've come to find that I want nothing more than to join the Army of the Lord. I used to have purpose–I had aspirations, dreams, goals, and wishes. But as the end of my childhood looms nearer, I've lost my passion for what has kept me going for a long time. I don't want to create art anymore. I don't want to become anything. I don't want to learn a single new thing for the rest of my life. Nothing makes me truly happy anymore. And of course, without anything to do, I am nothing. Without passion for something, I am nothing. Without hope or purpose or direction, I am nothing. (This is wrong thinking! It's truly okay to be nothing!)
Then I thought, perhaps I should join the Army of God. Why not be the thing I was created to be? When I was little, I reluctantly attended a Bible camp, and they had taught several classes on the "Army of God." Because I was young, they had us color in pictures of medieval knights in shiny suits of armor. Each piece of equipment had some sort of metaphor– prayer is the shield, the Word is the sword. Of course, being young, I didn't understand it. I was coloring a picture. But now, I look back and realize that we truly are called to become Soldiers in the Army of God. Not after death, but right here and now.
We are all ill-equipped at birth to defend ourselves against the enemy. We are naked and vulnerable, using only what our parents and pastors give us to make up our minds about our beliefs. We are easily influenced– we are forced to trust people. We cannot function alone, and are dependent on those around us to care for our needs. Because the people around us are human, they make mistakes. Unintentionally, they hurt us and scar us from the moment we are born. It's a terribly sad and heart-breaking thing to admit that humanity can never live up to our own expectations, but it is truth, nonetheless. From childhood, we are saddled with the horrors and heartaches of falling short and failing. None of that is our fault. How could we be responsible for the world that we were born into? We never had a choice!
But we do have a choice.
The Army of God is the call of every human on Earth. By dying for us, He opened up the ability to join Him in the Battle against the enemy. We have now been given the authority to fight back. No matter what He has called us to do, it is all under the general heading of Army of the Lord. Every Believer is a soldier. Every heart is a battlefield.
I used to think the War was bigger than me. It's natural to think that the God of Earth would be waging war against satan through nations and politics. It was about praying for bigger things, traveling the world, spreading hope and love throughout the nations. It was about being obedient to the call in big, exotic, and risky places. It was a war against poverty and hunger. And that's true– God is waging war against nations, and He wants to give hope to the downcast and strength to the hungry. But that's not what being in the Army means.
Satan doesn't attack by taking away food from the masses and inciting countries to war. Although major spiritual significance and actions can be found in international disagreements, that kind of war is mostly humanity's creation. God and satan fight a different kind of war–the war for our hearts, minds, and souls. Satan attacks us through lies, temptations, and self-hatred. He feeds on us when we are depressed. God and satan fight an emotional war within the heart of every person. The devil tempted Jesus with mental tricks. Jesus had been fasting and was starving in the desert, and satan told him to make stones into bread. Satan wanted Jesus to prove He was the Son of God by playing his emotions, but Jesus didn't give in. This is the most important battleground–right in our hearts.
So how do we fight? Now that we are in the Army of the Lord, how do we take action against the enemy? How do we participate in this Great War between Good and Evil in our hearts? Just like my Bible camp teachers had taught–we can equip ourselves first.
If satan tells lies, then our first offense is truth. Jesus responded to the devil's jabs with scripture verses, because Jesus was well trained in the Word of God, like we should be.
The next is love and relationship. Satan is hatred and jealousy, he is depression and anxiety, fear and guilt. We can combat this with a relationship with the Holy Spirit. In Galations 5, Paul writes that the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, etc. Note that he says "fruit" of the Spirit. Fruit grows OUT of something greater, and in this case, fruit grows out of a walk within the Holy Spirit. We don't create love on our own, we must grow love from relationship. That means giving our time to learn the true nature of God, just meditating on who He is.
Other defenses include faith and hope, meaning you must confidently place trust in what you believe. Prayer is yet another piece of armor. Jesus had authority and power enough to speak words of life and death into people and fig trees–take every thought captive and be careful what you say. Words are extremely powerful.
I'm sure that there are hundreds of other ways of fighting back, too many to list here, but your own walk with God will reveal the ones most important to you. The main thing is to realize this: Jesus died to give you a choice. The choice is between Life and Death. Good and Evil. Wholeness and Brokenness. Victim or Victor. Soldier or Bystander. The war is not above our heads, it's in our hearts. Satan wants to tear you apart–your family, friends, your feelings, your issues–he uses those to chain you down. He wants you to be depressed, ill, hurting, grieving, fearful, burdened, and trapped.
But Jesus has set you free. Now, what will you do with your freedom? Allow yourself to be captured again, or fight back like a soldier in the Army of God?
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