Spiritual Warfare

When a person becomes a born-again believer they enter into spiritual warfare.  As far as the evil one is concerned you have committed treason, something like jumping ship.  You may think of it as mutiny.  This does not make the evil one happy and he will try to do everything in his power to get you back, using any means such as lying, cheating, stealing, deceiving and destroying.  Jesus said this about the evil one in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Peter said this about the evil one in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

From the book of Genesis to the book of Revelations, the evil one is mentioned so you can get a good picture of him and his evil intentions.  I think many new believers have a misconception of the evil one, knowing that he was defeated at the cross and singing the song which says Satan is under our feet, it is easy to think that he has thrown in the towel, so to speak, and has sort of given up. If this is true why does Peter say to resist the devil?  The evil one would like everyone to think he has been rendered harmless and is not a threat to anyone anymore, then there would be very little resistance to his stealing, killing and destroying and he would have free rein to do his work.  

When Peter says that the evil one is like a roaring lion walking about seeking whom he may devour, what does that picture make you think of?  A lion will roar, which is very scary, and I have read it can be heard, on a clear day, up to five miles away to scare his victims.  Then he will look for the most venerable young, sick, un-expecting, stragglers, or unprotected animals to kill.  This is also the strategy of the evil one.  In this situation, the believers Peter was talking to were elders and believers that were under persecution, suffering for their faith.  When you suffer you may think it will never end, you may become weary, those are times when the enemy comes in and tries to destroy you through his temptations.  

When believers fast for a period of time, the evil one may try to attack, like the time Jesus was in the desert fasting and the evil one tried to get Him to sin by lying to Him, you can read about it in Matthew 4:1-11.  If the evil one thought he could get Jesus to sin, what do you think he is trying to do with Jesus’ followers?  I like what James said in James 4:7-8 which talks about how we can make the evil one flee, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”  

Another thing that will help is if you put on the armor of God each day, it talks about this in Ephesians 6:10-18, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 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, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”

We need to be diligent and take every thought captive unto the Lord.  We need to do our part, but never forget we cannot do it on our own, we need to seek the Lord’s help, for we can do nothing without Him. Never forget these words in Psalms 127:1:

“Unless the Lord builds the house,

They labor in vain who build it;

Unless the Lord guards the city,

The watchman stays awake in vain.”

The Lord has to be in the center of all we do if we are going to overcome the evil one and be victorious in our faith to the end.  Something to think about, have a super day and may God bless!!  PS don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord!!