Standing Firm in Life’s Battles

Standing Firm in Life’s Battles

Rhonda Juarez

My name is Rhonda Juarez. I am from Antlers, Oklahoma. I am a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. I have always loved the land of my Choctaw people, where the land is green. I grew up attending government boarding schools, where I was surrounded by trees and grass. For as long as I can remember, I have loved to live where it is green. That is why it was difficult for me to move to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to be with family. It sounds funny to complain about it now—many years later. But I still remember how “brown” the scenery felt. All I could see were rocks, dirt, and ants—so many ants.

I laugh about it now, because now I can look back and see the big picture. Now I understand why the Lord led me to New Mexico. He had so many blessings in store for me, but all I wanted to do was complain about the ants.

My granddaughter was six at the time. She would come home from school and tell me Bible stories that she heard from her friends. I remember thinking that I needed to take her to church—not just for my granddaughter, but for me too. Deep down, I knew that I had to find a church for both of us.

One morning, I passed a sign for “All Nations Indian Baptist Church.” I was kind of skeptical at first, because I knew there weren’t many Natives in the area of Albuquerque where I lived. I remember thinking, “I need to check them out someday, because I want to see what kind of Natives these people are.”

Not long after this, my daughter and I went to the park for a community garage sale. A man walked up and introduced himself. Before long, we realized that he had been my brother’s roommate at Haskell Indian School! As we kept talking, I realized that he was also the pastor of the Native church I had been thinking about going to. Pastor and Mrs. Youngdeer were kind and personable, which made me even more interested in going to church there.

I was very fearful about many things during this time in my life, but something about this church felt safe. I had grown up attending church but hadn’t made church a pri­ority as an adult. So I decided that I would try going to church again—and that I would take my family with me. To our surprise, we were made to feel at home. Soon, we became “regulars.”

At first, I went to church because of my grandchildren. I wanted them to have a background to know God while they were young so that they would have something to fall back on when they got older. I knew that they would face many problems through life—even as teenagers—and I knew that they needed God in their lives.

But I still knew, deep down, that I needed God as much as they did. This became clear to me one Wednesday night when we were having church in Pastor Youngdeer’s home. He asked me this question: “Rhonda, If you were to die to­day, do you know where you would go?” I thought I knew the answer, but something in my heart made me stop and think deeply about it. My pastor said that the fact I had to think about it could mean that I still needed to get saved— or that I needed to rededicate my life to the Lord. I had given my life to the Lord as I child, but I could look back on many years of straying from God, His Word, and His peo­ple—the Church. So that night I rededicated my life to the Lord in Pastor and Mrs. Youngdeer’s home.

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. –Romans 10:13

For some reason, I was thinking that my problems would start to go away after accepting God into my life. I re­member expecting the day to come when I wouldn’t have problems anymore, or at least not any new problems. But I still had problems. I had family problems, work problems, financial problems—problems of every kind. I am so thank­ful that our church taught us what the Bible says about following Jesus—that it isn’t easy (Matthew 16:24-26).

My life would be a spiritual disaster without the public preaching of God’s Word and the encouragement of God’s people. Following Jesus is impossible without a local church family. I would like to share a Bible passage with you that our church in Albuquerque studied together many years ago. My life has never been the same since aligning my heart with these verses.

In Ephesians chapter 6, the Apostle Paul paints a sobering picture of the spiritual warfare swirling around us and our families every single day. We are challenged to put on God’s spiritual armor as part of our daily routine. There have been many days as a single mom and grandmother when I have rushed out the door without much time to get ready for the day—leaving behind optional things like jew­elry. But spiritually speaking, we can’t afford to rush out the door without preparing ourselves for life in a broken world.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. –Ephesians 6:10-13

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. –Ephesians 6:14-18

Putting on God’s armor every day isn’t optional to me any­more. It’s actually more important than making sure my hair and outfit look okay. Even on days when all seems well, I wake up to a world that is hurting and hurtful. By spend­ing time in God’s Word and in prayer, I have the Gospel footing necessary to stand strong each day.

The first thing we are told about this armor is that it comes from God. Jesus wore the armor first (Isaiah 59:14- 21). Each piece of armor listed in Ephesians 6 is a picture of what God equips us with when we place our faith in Jesus. That is what Ephesians chapters 1-3 are about—the firm foundation we can have through Christ. The second half of Ephesians (chapters 4-6) is about standing firm on that foundation. God has provided the armor, and now we are commanded to stand firm on the frontlines of an invis­ible (yet very real) battle.

Belt of Truth: The enemy wants us to question what is right and what is wrong. The enemy wants us to follow our hearts instead of stabilizing our hearts with God’s truth. That is why God has spoken clearly to us—equip­ping us with the Bible. We are called to build our lives on God’s truth (Matthew 7:24-29) and find freedom in God’s truth (John 8:32). We are also called to live lives of truth­fulness and integrity. (Read Psalm 119; John 14:6; 17:17)

Breastplate of Righteousness: The enemy wants us to despair and forget that we have been made right with God through the blood of Jesus (Romans 5:1-11). The enemy also wants us to live in spiritual defeat and sinful apathy—opening ourselves up to further attack and heartache. That is why God tells us to rest in Christ’s righteousness and not our own works (Ephesians 2:8-9). From this secure footing in God’s grace, we are called to live lives that God can bless and use to bless others. Godly habits act like body armor—protecting our hearts from lethal attacks. (Read Proverbs 4:23-27; Romans 13:11-14)

Shoes of Gospel Peace: The enemy wants us to lose our footing where God has placed us. He wants us to ques­tion God’s power to save us and use us in this battle. That is why we need the firm foundation of the Gospel—the historical fact that Jesus defeated sin on a wooden cross 2,000 years ago and then defeated death by rising from the grave the following Sunday morning. Remembering the big picture gives us spiritual stability during life’s bat­tles. We are at peace with God through the blood of Jesus, and God can give us a peace today that is stronger than our circumstances. (Read John 16:33; I Corinthians 15:3-4; Jude 24-25; Romans 1:16-17; 5:1-2; Philippians 4:6-7)

Shield of Faith: The enemy is patient. If not extinguished, his flaming arrows will dismantle our faith over months or even years. Faith is taking God at His Word, and living a life that only makes sense if the good news of the Gospel is true. Rather than placing our confidence in this world’s shifting values, we are called to stand with God’s people against the attacks and distractions of the enemy. (Read Hebrews 10:23-25; I John 5:4; Ephesians 2:1-9; Hebrews 11)

Helmet of Salvation: The enemy wants us doubting and discouraged—forgetting the glorious future awaiting us. God wants us to know for certain where we will spend eternity (II Corinthians 13:5; I John 5:11-13). If you are born again (John 3), you have protection for your mind. In Christ, we have freedom from the power of sin today and the presence of sin for eternity. (Read I Thessalonians 5:8-9; John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Philippians 1:6, 28; 4:6-7)

Sword of God’s Word: The enemy wants us to be clumsy and unskilled with our sword. It is no threat to him while collecting dust on the shelf—out of sight and out of mind. While under triple attack by the enemy in Matthew 4, Jesus quoted the Word of God. Reading, studying, and memorizing the Bible prepares us for combat. (Read II Corinthians 10:3-5; Hebrews 4:12; II Timothy 3:16-17)

Watchful Prayer: The enemy wants us disconnected and alone on the battlefield. He wants us to do everything but pray during the defining moments of our lives. That is why our prayer life must be consistent, vigilant, specific, and Bible-saturated. Prayer is how we fit our armor to each day’s battle. And our armor isn’t complete until we have recruited a team of prayer warriors (Ephesians 6:18-20). Prayer requests are how we can have each other’s backs in battle. (Read I Peter 5:7-11; I Timothy 2:1-8; Romans 12:12)

Legacy of Love: We must battle against our true enemy— the devil. We must lovingly warn those who are still blinded by his lies (II Corinthians 4:3-6). We need God’s armor, and our kids need it too. As a mother and a grandmother, there is no greater legacy I can leave for my children and grandchildren than a faith that stands strong while stand­ing beside them. (Read III John 1:4; II Timothy 2:24-26)

By bringing me to Albuquerque in His perfect timing, the Lord completely turned my life around. He knew exactly what He was doing the whole time. He taught me how to love what is true and lovingly stand against what is false. A close relationship with God brings beauty and hope to daily life, especially on days when all we can see are rocks and dirt—and ants.

(Copyright 2026)