Living ChangedSample

Spiritual Warfare

Living with an awareness of spiritual warfare means first understanding there’s an enemy who prowls like a lion. Lions aren’t obvious in their attack - they’re sneaky. And likewise, our enemy will be deceitful, underhanded, and shake things up under the surface just to sit back and watch the fallout. 

He is the father of lies. He throws lies at us like daggers, and he wants us to pick them up and agree with them. And when we do, we turn his lies into the voice in our own head, and we play it on repeat. Or we assume the worst about someone else and let it feed the conflict between us. Any time we listen to something that’s not based in God’s truth, we agree with Satan’s lies. 

Other tactics of the enemy are fear, unforgiveness, apathy, and conflict. If he can distract you from what God wants to do through you, he wins. That’s why when we think about doing good, it’s opposed. Satan doesn’t want you living out your God-given purpose. We need to stop brushing off his attacks as our own thoughts. We need to learn how to spot the enemy’s attacks for what they are and shut them down. 

This is a literal war. Your relationships are under attack because the enemy wants to get you separated from the pack and take you out of the battle. But remember, your battle isn’t against the person next to you. It’s against an enemy who has come to steal, kill, and destroy. And we have to fight together for ourselves, our spouses, children, and friends. 

If we live aware of the enemy’s schemes, we live differently. We must daily put on the full armor of God. It isn’t a metaphor, but a guide on how to remember God’s truth throughout the day. We hear all the time that the Word of God is a weapon. But when was the last time you sharpened your weapon or used it in battle? You have the full power and authority of Christ at your disposal as His daughter. Use it boldly to fight the enemy. 

We know how the war ends - with Jesus victorious. So fight fiercely from a place of confidence in Christ, without fear.