Next month Pastor Ryan will host a gathering for Group Leaders to discuss the topic of spiritual warfare (for more information click here). In a perfectly timed and relevant way that only God can orchestrate, I was recently invited to preview a book on spiritual warfare called Stronger Than The Struggle, by Havilah Cunnington.

The book includes several hard truths about spiritual warfare, but it also provides words of encouragement, hope and reassurance. I was reminded again and again that even though we go to battle every day, the war has already been won.

Here are the top five lessons I learned from this book:

• We can’t always grow up to be anyone we want to be, no matter what we’ve been told, what we believe, or how hard we try. But if our success is defined in a God-directed way, we will live fulfilling and successful lives knowing we became our personal best.
• We have to move out of fear to walk into courage. We have to move out of shame to walk into purity. We have to move out of anxiety and worry to walk into peace and rest. Jesus will not do it for us, but he will invite us into it.
• Jesus didn’t die on a cross so we could snuggle up to shame, fear or failure. He died to give us full access to everything he has to give, which is more than we could imagine.
• The devil comes to shake you, but God comes to steady you.
  

This one is especially fitting for groups:

• The enemy attacks at night because he knows our community isn’t always available in the evening. He lures us when we are isolated and most vulnerable. We are most powerful when we are around our community, our pack, our tribe. So it makes sense that many of our battles will take place when we’re not in the safety of that community.

For more information about Stronger Than The Struggle and Havilah Cunnington, visit www.havilahcunnington.com.

Book Review by Sarah Biggerstaff