What are we fighting against?
“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.”
Ephesians 6:12
So many of the challenges we face in this life are not just because we are merely human and make mistakes, or because things “just happen.” There is a much greater force at work than simply the little lives we live. Our Heavenly Father has plans and purposes for each and every life on this earth (Jeremiah 29:11). However, satan has plans too! The heavenlies are waging war against us, our families and our friends. Satan wants to annihilate all traces of God’s plans and purposes for us, and if he can’t completely knock God out of the picture he at least wants to keep us distracted enough so that God’s plans are no longer our priority. And satan will stop at nothing to see God’s plans derailed in our lives. We get ourselves into trouble when we don’t acknowledge the fact that there is a war raging in the heavenly realms. I have heard well-meaning Christians say “I don’t want to make this out to be a spiritual battle.” What is it inside of us that makes us think that the struggles we find ourselves in are not spiritual attacks? I can only assume that this concept of the heavenlies waging war for our souls is a topic that makes people extremely uncomfortable. It is an area we as humans do not understand nor are we able to have complete control over. And quite frankly it’s a scary concept to think about. It is this very entrapment of discomfort that satan is so eager to keep us entangled in, because living in fear of the unknown will, in fact, paralyze us from ever waging war. All the while, the situations we are facing are continuing to wage war with us. Can you see the dangers of not acknowledging the spiritual forces of evil working in the heavenly realms? They will wage war whether or not we acknowledge their existence. We might as well trust God when He tells us that there are spiritual forces of evil at work in the heavenly realms.
How do we wage war?
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-6
Since God’s word tells us there are spiritual forces of evil that we must wage war against, the question remains of how do we wage war? According to 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 God has given us weapons with divine power. These weapons are used to demolish strongholds, arguments (speculations), and pretension (a lofty thing) that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. In other words, anything contrary to the word of God or the character of Christ we are to wage war against using the divine weapons that God has given us.
To continue this series please read: Weapons Of Warfare (Part 2), Weapons Of Warfare (Part 3)
Father, help us to believe you at your word when you tell us there is a spiritual battle going on in the heavenly realms for our souls. Give us the courage we need to wage war, to not back down, and to fight the good fight of faith. Heap upon us the fortitude that we need to use the weapons you have already placed in our hands to demolish strongholds, arguments and any lofty thing that sets itself up against the knowledge of you. Fill us with the tenacity we need to wage war in the heavenlies! We ask these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ.
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