Power In The United Body Of Christ

If there is one thing our enemy wants to do to us, it’s destroy us (John 10:10). Satan wants to take us out of this spiritual fight of faith before we beat him at his own game. He doesn’t want us to realize that we have all authority over him (Luke 10:19), and that it’s only a matter of time before he gets his ultimate defeat. He wants us to lose, solely because we don’t know how to fight back when he throws things at us.

And what’s his number one strategy? Divide and conquer.  

The Bible talks about a spiritual battle that all Christians in (Ephesians 6:12). In fact, every single human being is in this fight against the enemy, but only those who have the Holy Spirit have authority over the devil. And what’s sad about this is that many Christians don’t even understand the power they have against these forces of darkness. 

God has equipped us with everything we need to fight back and resist (2 Peter 1:3, 1 Peter 5:8-9, James 4:7).

But here’s the thing, guys: fighting isn’t always easy—it usually isn’t.  

Satan likes to take advantage of us when we’re weak, hurting, confused, and vulnerable. I can’t stress enough the fact that he is only always bad. He never has good intentions–he only wants to destroy us. There is absolutely nothing good in his kingdom– he has no mercy on anyone. 

Although we know we ultimately have the authority over him in the spirit realm, what do we do when he hits us hard at the worst possible time? When our circumstances have gone from bad to worse, and it seems like things couldn’t get any more terrible? How about when we feel like we’re so spiritually weak that we’ve lost the strength to continue fighting and just need help?

Here’s the simple answer: we need help from the body of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:1 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” When someone needs encouragement, it is expected that someone else will encourage them! After all, isn’t that what we should be doing?

As Christians, we are set apart. As followers of Jesus, we are different, and it is our job to Show The World Who We Represent!, and one of the ways we do that is by demonstrating our love for one another. The Bible actually says in John 13:35, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

I recently had a time where I was going through some really hard things in my mind—I felt like something was hopeless. It was discouraging me, and one of my dearest friends could tell. She pulled me aside the next time she saw me, and encouraged me with scripture and kind words of hope. I left our conversation feeling so optimistic and loved. She had noticed I needed something, and had made sure to give me that: encouragement and support. 

That very day, I felt like a huge burden was lifted. Fear and despair had left me, and I felt like I could hope again. A sister in Christ coming alongside me helped me come against Satan and the hopelessness he was trying to get me to feel. 

There is a lot to be said about what happens when the body of Christ comes together with the intention of spiritually strengthening each other. 

We need each other to help us when we feel like we can’t go on any longer. How many times in my life I’ve needed prayer or encouragement, and kept silent instead of asking for prayer. Those were some of the hardest times to get through– the times where I had no support from the family of believers I was connected with. Not because they weren’t willing, but because I didn’t let them know I needed something. 

Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” 

It’s put very simply. We’re not supposed to carry our burdens on our own, because seriously, some can be too heavy to bear alone.

When we aren’t the only ones bearing our burdens, everything suddenly becomes so much lighter. When we are getting encouragement and prayer when we need it, we will be spiritually strengthened and refreshed, able to take on the next challenges that we face in our fight of faith.

Today I want to encourage you to reach out to people you know who can pray with and encourage you when you need it. You can ask me for prayer, and I’ll come alongside you and pray for you + with you.

It’s not about ranting, complaining, or gossiping– it’s about the body of Christ uplifting one another, so we can do what we’re told to do: work together to push back the kingdom of darkness, and bring people into the kingdom of light!