To be behind enemy lines is a military term that means you are on their turf, but not on their side. This understanding makes our position as believers in this world very important. In other words, God wants us to help hold ground for the kingdom of Light, even in the midst of dark and trying times.
Obviously, the enemy has other plans. And one tactic he uses is fear and insecurity. And it doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, male or female, these attacks come at us all at some point or another.
Insecurity and fears can squelch dreams, mask truth, and redefine whole destinies. People who otherwise seem fine if you observe them at their job or school, or even church, often wrestle with bombarding thoughts, regrets, and disappointments. Why? Because the devil knows this truth and uses it to his advantage: “For as a man he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).
A REAL THREAT
To think means to calculate (add up) or set a price on. So this scripture means as a person values him or herself, “so are they…” In other words, if a person thinks or calculates in their mind that they are not worth much (feel insecure about themselves), they actually become less of a threat to the enemy although they carry the light and power of Jesus.
However, the person who understands God’s love and their value in Christ, becomes a real threat to the enemy. This is because the devil lacks power against those who know their weapons. And one of the best weapons any of us possess is an UNDERSTANDING OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (or we could call it an understanding of who we are IN CHRIST). 2 Corinthians 6:7 says, “We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense” (NLT).
Righteousness describes our right-standing with God, including the ability to stand before Him without guilt or inferiority as if we had never sinned. It is first mentioned in Genesis 15:6 regarding Abraham’s faith in God and is then mentioned 292 times in the New King James alone. In the Old Testament, righteousness referred to man’s obedience to God’s law, which is why Jesus is the first to mention it in the New Testament. He came to shake people’s religious thinking with God’s new way of doing things by faith.
Every one of us were born into the world naturally destined to a life separated from God— until Jesus made a trade for us. The Bible says God’s new way of doing things was a great exchange. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him“ (2 Corinthians 5:21).
God’s plan was for Jesus to trade something of His for something of ours. God didn’t do away with the justice of the Old Covenant. Jesus simply paid for it. But know this, every exchange is a two-way street. Jesus traded His righteousness for our sin (and shame) which means we traded our shame for His righteousness.
LIKE A SUITCASE
We need to see righteousness not as one thing, but as the container of many things. A suitcase holds everything we need for a journey. Righteousness is the container of everything God has for us in Christ. It is the multi-faceted word that describes our POSITION with God, the BENEFITS of being a child of God, and also our corresponding ACTIONS as a child of God and joint-heir of Christ.
So think about our scripture again: “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” Notice it’s what WE believe about ourselves that matters (not what others say, or even what God says, but what we say and believe about the person reflected in our mirror). Example: you can hear all day that God loves you, but if you carry around self-hate, then what you believe (and say) about yourself will override God’s truth and dictate your life. REAL CHANGE requires our participation. In other words, God can better help and transform a person if they choose to change the way they think, aligning themselves to His truth.
This means you can’t let your feelings dictate what you believe because feelings are the devil’s playground (his weapon against us in most cases). But you have weapons too. As you purpose to embrace who you are in Christ (your righteousness in Him), it becomes a strong weapon against the enemy of fear and insecurity.
So although your everyday life (your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life) looks ordinary, you are actually holding ground for God in the earth. He needs you to be strong and courageous (not fearful and insecure). And this is why an understanding of righteousness is so important.
