Soldiers of Faith

God asks us to do hard things. We have to let go of ourselves, and do God’s will. We have to put away our pride and desire to control our lives. I don’t know about you, but that is hard for me sometimes. Hopefully, if I keep practicing, it will get easier? Maybe?

We have to put aside the things that we wanted in our youth. We have to pursue faith, love and peace with those who cry to the Lord with a pure heart. We have to focus our time looking for the complete trust in God, intense love, and tranquility with people who seek the Lord with an uncontaminated heart.

We have to avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. When others try to start an argument with me, I have to walk away. I should not participate. When someone is attacking me verbally, it requires a great deal of will power to leave the situation. When I was younger, I would lash out in response to attacks. Now, I am trying to change and do God’s will. I need God’s strength to help me do his good will. I can’t do it on my own.

God wants his followers be gentle and not argue. God wants us to patiently and humbly correct others. To be honest, this is hard for me. I can silently pray for others, but actually correcting them is not easy for me. I understand why God wants me to do it. God wants to pull them closer to him and forgive them. God wants them to turn away from being caught in Satan’s web, and instead to be embraced by our loving heavenly father.

Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
–2 Timothy 2:22-26 (NKJV)

Followers of Jesus are God’s soldiers of faith. Together, we can make an army of  believers fighting to win others back from Satan for God. We have to load up our defense strategy by reading the bible, memorizing scripture verses, praying and trusting in God. I don’t know about you, but it does not come easily to me. That is ok. God will prepare us and give us what we need to do his good works.