In real life, paper targets don’t shoot back and martial arts mannequins don’t fight back. This is true in spiritual matters. The only place we will ever understand the gritty realities of a life of faith is in the trenches of actual spiritual combat. Make sure to move your faith out into the open away from an isolated devotional life and from behind the walls of a church building. Step onto the mean streets of life. In these mean streets is where you will have the opportunity to forgive when you don’t want to forgive and prophesy hope when you feel hopeless.

In this place of reality is where the target of your love may actually fire back rounds of hatred and your mental mannequin will become a hopeless and angry human being who rejects your words of hope by spewing the venom of disbelief and mockery in response. This is where the true battles of faith await your arrival. Unlike paper target and lifeless mannequins, these encounters will confront your understanding of reality and challenge your faith. Once you pass this test God will be able to use you in places of spiritual warfare you never thought possible.