The Battle Is Real
ICS Daily Devotions
Ephesians 6:10-13 (NKJV) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour 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 armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Spiritual warfare is real, and the devil doesn’t play fair in his dealings with us. Therefore, we need to know how to stand against the wiles of the evil one. There are two types of spiritual warfare: temptations and the fiery darts of the evil one.
Temptations will always be thrown at us to lure us back into our old selves or ‘old men’ and discourage us from living out the newness of life in Christ. The second type is fiery darts that are shot at us by the devil. Can you remember what it was like when you went through a state of distress, tribulation, or trial in your life? Typically, one would have all kinds of thoughts, doubts, frustrations, anguish, and go through emotional roller coasters. We would also ask questions like, “What have I done to deserve this?”, or “Is it a discipline of God?” In addition, there might be opinions, suggestions, and deductions from different people. While some might be helpful, others are stoking the fire. Therefore, the solution is to listen to one voice amid the chaos and frustrations, instead of allowing our thoughts to run wild with all kinds of questions. The key is to get into the Word and enforce the victory.
The Apostle Paul has revealed to us that the devil and his cohorts are real, and it is futile to use natural weapons against them. The problem is because we seldom talk about the enemies in church, some Christians are ignorant about them and unable to discern. As such, some will think that everything they experience in life is from God, and when something bad happens, they will blame God for it out of their misunderstanding that the origin of their evil encounter is God. At times, they may even develop a theology about suffering out of it!
The days are evil and there are fiery darts fired at us by the devil. We must not be ignorant but should be well taught on the subject. Thereafter, we should not be passive towards the disturbance of the devil but put on the full armour of God so that we can handle it well and stand strong in the midst.
Sermon Series: Believers’ Authority
