Be a Warrior

A few weeks ago I went to see the movie Wonder Woman. I had spent some time with God and he said to go see the movie because there was something he wanted to show me.

Let me start by saying that I am NOT a movie buff by any means. I don’t even watch a lot of movies or TV for that matter. There are others things I would rather be doing … like hiking, gardening, writing, reading, etc. I do have to admit that there are times when I just want to check out of life and watch someone else do something on the screen but watching a movie or TV is not how I prefer to do it. 

When God told me to go see the movie Wonder Woman, I actually laughed. Who would have thought that he would want to show me something through a movie. Believe it or not, I have already seen this movie twice! I even paid to see this movie more than once.

Here’s what I came away with from Wonder Woman…

She’s a woman of intense determination founded in pure compassion and deep love.

She didn’t give up, even when it was hard. As she moved forward in the battle, love and compassion is what drove her to keep going.

Even as her enemy was devising an evil plan, she moved forward with good intentions and a pure heart.

Integrity. Purity. It should be a part of who we are.

She loves babies. 

She has a soft heart. She is built to love and care for others.

At one point Wonder Woman was in a conference room of leaders discussing what should be done by their soldiers. Before she walks out of the room she gets in the leaders face about not having his leaders fighting alongside the soldiers. She wants to see the leaders fight with honor.

This was a challenge for me. As a leader, do I fight with honor and respect for others? Do I value those around me like they need to be valued? When I pray for someone, do I have their best interests in mind? Do I really care about their heart? What are my heart intentions as a leader?

So many times I’ve seen leaders simply tell their “soldiers” what to do but they won’t get in the trenches with them. Leaders, we need to get in the trenches with our people. Get dirty with them. Feel what they feel. Do what they do. How do we know how to lead if we don’t get in it with them?

As she sees innocent people hurting it gives her more of a drive to fight for their freedom. It fuels her drive for justice for the women and children who cannot fight. She can’t help herself. She has to fight for their freedom.

Who do we need to fight for? There are so many that can’t or don’t know how to fight for themselves. They are helpless. Who will fight for them?

She’s a warrior. She leads the way so others can fight too. She takes the initial attack with bravery, boldness and confidence.

A warrior is a woman of strength, determination and perseverance.

“Everyone is fighting their own battles Diana, just as you are fighting yours.” She lays down her own issues to help others but at the same time acknowledges her own when she needs to.

We are all hurting in some way. It’s how life works. Reality is that there is always an arrow here and an arrow there coming at us. Everyone always has something to work through. Acknowledge your own “stuff”. Don’t be afraid of it. 

She doesn’t take all the credit for freedom. She gives credit where it’s due. Knowing that she can’t possibly do it all on her own, she respectfully acknowledges those that fight with her.

Work together. We can’t do it all on our own. As leaders, we need to acknowledge those that help us along. We can’t do this life on our own.

“It’s not about what you deserve, it’s about what you believe.”

She believes in the good of others.

As she fights for freedom, she discovers strength that she didn’t know that she has. In the process, she learns who she is and who she is becoming. The more she fights with honor and love, the stronger she becomes.

I know that as life has handed me challenges I have learned more about myself than I would have otherwise. I am grateful for those challenges because as I have fought through them, they have shaped me to be who I am today. They have made me stronger than I was before or could have been without them.

She’s a freedom fighter.

Oh how I love this about her. She fights with honor, truth and love. I want to be like her. This truth was huge for me.

She always has her armor on.

Wonder Woman even wore her armor under the street clothes she was wearing. She was always prepared for battle. She rarely let her guard down.

Ephesians 6:10-17

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:10 says to be strong in the Lord. To be strong in the Lord means to fight like a warrior … with the armor on.

The world is cruel and life is hard. Without the Armor of God, life can take us out and we will not be able to stand up. In the movie, Wonder Woman would have been taken out and killed if she didn’t have her armor on. It protected her from all the bullets and arrows that came at her. It even protected those that were fighting with her. Because she wore her armor everywhere she went, her partners in battle were able to fight too.

Leaders, parents, adults, Jesus-followers, putting your spiritual armor on in important … daily.

Life is hard. The battle is rough and it’s real. Be a warrior for Christ.