Worthy Women Ministries | Episode 1

Iron Sharpens Iron is a teaching series within the Worthy Women Ministry that was created to inspire women to dig deeper into the Word of God and to seek deeper connections in which Scripture is at the center of the relationship. The way that this concept came about is nothing short of a God moment. It actually was an experience that touches on our first topic: spiritual warfare.

Brittany woke up one morning feeling like she was drowning in anxiety, fear, and depression. There was no real reason, she just felt completely overwhelmed from the moment she opened her eyes. The whole month of January seemed like a constant struggle just to make it from moment to moment. One morning, she knew that she needed to get out of the house. Brittany felt like God was telling her that she needed to get into Mikhael’s War Room, but she felt uncertain about asking. She continued to feel the burden of depression and, at the same time, God’s small voice telling her to ask about going into the room. She couldn’t ignore the nudge from God any longer. She finally asked and Mikhael was excited to let her in. They went inside and prayed together and, just as God had shown her, Brittany felt a breakthrough.

But even more than that, as Brittany and Mikhael laughed, talked, and prayed together, they were inspired in a creative way to start the Iron Sharpens Iron series. It’s like God just downloaded all of this information and creativity into them in that single moment.

Just imagine what would have happened had Brittany not followed God’s lead that day. Not only was she able to break through her own darkness, but God took her to that room in that moment in order to take her to another level. Sometimes, we just need to come to God in a place of brokenness in order to receive what He has for us. We all have dark days and struggles but, often, God uses those moments as a way to show the contrast of where you start and where you end up.

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. So resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your bothers and sisters who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
1 PETER 5:8-10 (NASB)

The beautiful thing about God’s word is that He gives us a clear roadmap of what we need to do in order to seek Him and in order to find our own victory. 1 Peter 5:8-10 says this regarding spiritual warfare, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. In his kindness, God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.

So, we know that God is telling us, very clearly, to be aware— stay alert! Know that spiritual warfare will come into your life, do not grow tired of keeping watch for it. We must recognize it when it comes our way. Brittany knew what was going on when she felt the dark clouds over her that morning. She called it what it was. She knew that she couldn’t stay at home and allow the enemy to isolate her. She needed to be somewhere that she could be in the presence of others willing to pray with her and for her. She wasn’t alone and neither are we! This passage says that believers all over the world are going through the very same things— the same struggles that we do each and every day. We cannot let the enemy tell us that we are the only ones who sin the way that we sin, the only ones who stumble or fall. That’s simply not true!

So, we must resist the enemy by speaking truth over ourselves. Brittany talked about having “back pocket testimonies” that she pulls out whenever she feels overwhelmed. That simply means remembering times that God came through when it seemed impossible, prophetic words spoken over our lives that we can cling to, or even just scriptural promises that we know are for us as believers. So, when the enemy tries to take us down, we can reach into our “back pockets” and speak words of truth so that we can resist the lies that the enemy is telling us. We cannot allow him to back us into a corner or to force us to retreat, we must stand our ground. When we follow this Spiritual Warfare Roadmap, after a time, God will: restore us, confirm us, strengthen us, and place us on a firm foundation! What a relief to know that, even though we suffer, He will bring us through it, and use that experience as a firm foundation for us. That’s victory!

However, it’s important to remember, victory is a journey, not just a destination. Even though Brittany experienced her breakthrough in the War Room, the enemy was not finished throwing his poison darts at her. All through the evening, she kept feeling relief, then, sliding back into dread. Spiritual warfare is an ongoing struggle, but she didn’t give up. She continued to pray, praise, and trust God to get her through. Because she stood firm in one of her darkest days, she now has the opportunity to teach others.

Mikhael shared her own insight into fighting in spiritual warfare. Much like Xena: Warrior Princess, one of her favorite television shows as a child, she’s learned that the secret to victory in spiritual warfare is to clothe yourself in armor. Only, instead of shiny metal armor used in physical battles, we are to use the spiritual armor spoken about in Ephesians 6:11-13.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
EPHESIANS 6:10-13 (NASB)

The Full Armor of God

Image Credits: jesustruthdeliverance.com

‭‭In order to fight a spiritual battle, you must go to war with spiritual weapons. God is very clear about this. The enemy comes to destroy us in many different ways, but God tells us that if we stay alert, put on our spiritual armor, recognize where the threat is coming from, and resist the enemy, we WILL be standing firm at the end of the battle! Then, at that point, we will be restored, confirmed, strengthened, and set on a firm foundation.

What an incredible promise!

Commentary written by: Lili Morris