The Hidden Army

Too often we think about spiritual warfare as some kind of boxing match with God in one corner and Satan in the other. The truth is, the boxing-match image falls short; war really is a more accurate picture of what is going on.

About a third of the angelic realm came with Satan when he was kicked out of heaven. He is telling them where to go and what to do. They are around us, studying us, firing at us, and constantly trying to defeat us.

So we need to learn all we can about them.

First, Satan and his army of demons have an agenda and will stop at nothing to accomplish it.

In all of life’s decisions, they have a desire for you. There is something that they want to carry out in your life through those decisions. I know this sounds simplistic, but their agenda is to keep you away from the will and the goodness of God. And I believe that they major in the minor decisions of our lives with the hope that we don’t realize how far off track we are getting with each seemingly inconsequential move.

A second thing to know is that they are not omnipotent (all powerful), nor are they all knowing. They cannot read your mind. But they are studying you (and have been studying people like you) so that they will know what will take you out (Luke 22:31–32). Hebrews 13:2 says that people have entertained angels without knowing it (or showed hospitality, depending on your translation). We know that demons are fallen angels and eternal beings. It makes sense that they are studying generation after generation to learn all that they can.

I believe that behind everything broken in the world, the villain and his army are at work. I mean every heartbreak, burnout, panic attack, anxiety, death, diagnosis, hardship, and addiction . . . you name it. Yet you, as a Christian, need to realize that they are playing from a position of defeat. They want to watch the world burn. And you also need to know that you have everything you need to find victory over them.

“Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Remember: we don’t have to be afraid if we are under the authority of the all-powerful Jesus Christ.

Father, thank you for your protection and authority. As I learn about the war going on around me, help me become wise to the ways I may be vulnerable so I can go to you for strength.

Application Question:
When have you personally encountered a situation, person, or experience that felt “demonic”? What about it made it feel that way to you?