Have you ever felt like you may have a bull’s-eye on your back? Are you ducking and dodging the slings and arrows of the enemy’s attack? There’s a spiritual battle waging all around us. Some days we’re victorious, while other days we can feel completely defeated. Can you relate?
Here’s the good news – if we are feeling the effects of spiritual warfare, we can be certain that God is in it. No matter how oppressed, tempted, or ill equipped we may be feeling, there is an angelic army fighting to protect us.
The teacher in me would love to direct you to Ephesians 6 and remind you to put on the full armor of God to prepare for battle. While it is essential, God’s prompting me to share an additional approach.
Call it out by name
In the midst of our struggles, God instructs us to pray out loud to Him. He urges us to call out the temptation or sin by name, to say it out loud. This is a tangible act of bringing darkness into the light. God’s light will defeat ALL darkness ALL of the time, but only when we expose it.
Assemble the troops
On our own, we are completely incapable of defeating the enemy with any lasting effect. God equips us with the power of the Holy Spirit within us and assembles an army of prayer warriors around us. Consider the people you spend time with and those who know you best. Do they pray? Are they in relationship with God? If the answer is no, then Believer you need to find some prayer warriors! If the answer is yes, then allow them to support you in battle. Share your heart with them and allow them to keep you accountable. We don’t have to do this alone.
Give God the glory
At the end of the day as we stand battered and bruised from the constant barrage of attack, praise Him. Because of God, we’ve lived to fight another day. The enemy wouldn’t seek us out if God didn’t have great plans for us – so we need to praise Him for it! We may have the privilege of sharing God’s words with someone only to be spiritually blindsided by the enemy. But the victory of being used by God was so sweet that it is worth enduring the attack over and over again. God is amazing and so worthy of our praise!
Are you feeling the sting of attack? Do you feel alone on an endless battlefield? Or do you play it safe and lay low hoping to avoid being noticed? When we step out in our faith, we show up on the enemy’s radar. But we’re not unprepared and we’re not alone. God is on the other side of the battle; He will lead us through to victory!
Be blessed,
Jennifer
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”2 Corinthians 4:8-9