“For though we live as human beings, we do not wage war according to human standards,for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, but are made powerful by Godfor tearing down strongholds. We tear down arguments and every arrogant obstacle that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ.”
– 2 Corinthians 10:3–5
When was the last time you got into an argument? How did you respond?
Over the last month, God has been with me as I’ve been trudging through a trial. It has been really tough. I had not realized how much I was relying on my physical ability to survive the daily spiritual warfare that I was enduring.
God placed me in a position where all my physical wrestling and fighting was useless. The veil was slowly lifted from my eyes. I realized that much of my fighting was out of fear and a lack of faith.
When compared to Satan, I am a helpless lamb fighting with no defense. I was being deceived into thinking that the physical fighting that I was doing was making a huge difference. Until I cried out to God in prayer and began using His spiritual weapons, I had no tangible victory.
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.”
– Ephesians 6:12
We are in the midst of spiritual battle, whether we recognize it or not, whether we believe it or not, whether we prepare and fight or not.
Our enemy is not flesh and blood.
Our enemy is spiritual. It is so difficult to remember that as your anger is rising and you are backed into a corner. But we must.
For many believers that are in battle, it is a battle against a human being. While we are fighting against another person, our real enemy, Satan, is destroying us.
All of our battles are fought and won spiritually. Whenever we lose patience or lose our will or believe our physical eyes, we will begin to fight physically. Satan just loves that.
Satan has never won a battle fought strictly within the spiritual realm. God always prevails.
He will convince us that praying is not accomplishing anything, that God does not hear us, nor will He act. These are lies! Satan is a liar!
Satan’s strategy is to block the application of God’s Word so that we can be held hostage by his lies. However, when we take everything that is thrown at us and filter each of those things through God’s Word, we tear down arguments and obstacles.
Thoughts become feelings, and feelings turn into beliefs. Therefore, we must take every thought captive. We do this with the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us to discern the source of our thoughts and everyone else’s. He will keep us from trusting in our own wisdom, or the wisdom of others, and instead trust the wisdom of God.
God has given us divine, supernatural power, and we cannot be afraid to use it.
We are to recognize the spiritual battle, pray continuously and unceasingly, and fight with the spiritual weapons that God has gifted us.
When the Lord gives us a mission, we should automatically expect resistance, difficulties, and obstacles. We should anticipate that Satan will attempt to use the people that are closest to us in an effort to distract, paralyze, and hurt us.
This knowledge that we are in spiritual battle should make it easier for us to pray for our human enemies, especially since we know who our true enemy is.
I think of how I used to respond to arguments: proudly defending my opinion, using sarcasm, the silent treatment, backbiting, stubborn defensiveness, and having the last word. Now I realize that I quickly and easily walked into Satan’s traps.
I am so thankful for God’s protection; thankful that my thoughts and my mind stay focused on God. When I am unfocused, I simply pray for His help and His direction.
When facing a spiritual battle, the Bible and prayer are our first line of defense. The spiritual battle may rage on in the lives of believers, but our victory is assured because we are in Jesus.
Peace and grace unto you,
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Week 4 Challenge:
This week, focus on putting your faith into action. Take out your notecards or journal again and write out some of the promises of God. Then, next to the promises of God, write out how you can walk forward in faith in a specific area of your life concerning that promise, and pray over each one.
Week 4 Reading Plan:
Week 4 Memory Verse:
