Big Words of the Bible - Spiritual Warfare

TJ Addington‘s Weekday Devos Podcast

Do you ever find yourself struggling between doing what God wants you to do and feeling pulled toward the sinful side of your character? There is a good reason for that. We have a savior but we also have an enemy and that enemy wants to derail your relationship with your savior.

John 10:10 makes the dichotomy between our savior and our enemy clear. In the words of Jesus, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” The enemy comes to destroy and the savior comes to bring fullness of life. And that battle takes place every day in our lives.

What you need to know is that Jesus came to destroy the work of the evil one. 1 John 3:7 says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” But we still struggle with sin and temptation. How do we deal with that spiritual warfare?

Here is what Paul says about this tug of war in our lives. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

Paul makes it clear that we are in a struggle and it is against the devil’s schemes and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. If that is true, we cannot defeat this by ourselves so Paul writes that we need the full armor of God so that “you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

Unless we understand the realities of spiritual warfare and unless we understand our need for spiritual power to defeat the work of the evil one in our lives, we will be defeated. Spiritual warfare demands spiritual power. That power is available to us every moment of every day through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us. But, we cannot do it on our own, which we often try to do. Remember that Jesus came to destroy the work of the evil one. That is true today in your life and my life.

And remember this: “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” Never forget that truth! 1 John 4:4. How close is the help we need? It is within us through the Holy Spirit. Never forget: The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Father, remind me often of the realities of spiritual warfare. Give me the power of your Spirit to say no to the evil one and yes to Jesus. Give me that power today. Amen.