“The Battle Is The Lord’s”

One of the many important lessons that I have learned in this church was when I first arrived in Plainfield. I remember very well, one of the things that struck me was that our practitioner, Mrs. Evans, would often remind us that we are in a battle, and we had better make sure we are on the right side of that battle. I remember it used to bother me whenever she would remind us of that. I had a false impression that life wasn’t supposed to be a battle. I had this false impression of Christian Science, that everything was supposed to be nice. I thought I was supposed to deal with every situation diplomatically, work with people, persuade people, and avoid the battle. As a result I was having great difficulty in a lot of business and relationship situations, because I would avoid confrontation whenever I saw it. I would often not speak up when I should. It was often an uncomfortable and unhealthy situation, and it bothered me.

Mrs. Evans would continue to remind us that we are in a battle. One day I woke up and realized I was being totally selfish. I was seeing the battle as a battle of people. I was making it personal and real, instead of realizing that the battle is between good and evil, and that the battle is the Lord’s. I realized that I should trust what God is doing, and I should not fear the battle, but welcome it, because the enemy is not real.

That morning and I said, “ok, I’ll accept that.” I will enlist as Mrs. Eddy tells us to do if we are Christian Scientists. I will enlist and accept that there is a battle, and I won’t be afraid to do battle against evil, against error. I will stop taking it personally, and I will stop seeing it as a person. I won’t be afraid of hurting people's feelings if God instructs me to speak up. I will not be afraid of confrontational situations if someone is pushing a wrong agenda. I will be very happy to push back if that’s what God wants me to do.

When I came to that realization, that acceptance, I can’t tell you what a freedom it was for me. It was like a huge weight being lifted from my shoulders. It was like God opened up a whole new life for me, and I felt like a new person. From that point on I have done much better in confrontational situations, and in a lot of other situations. I feel that I have been much healthier, happier, and much more capable of doing what God really wants me to do, and not fearing the consequences. I’m very grateful for this lesson.