You’re getting hit with doubt, with temptations, with all kinds of other problems, and you’re wondering, “What horrible sin have I have committed to bring this upon myself? What have I done to deserve such a fate? What’s wrong here? Why is God letting this happen to me?” Have you ever experienced that?
Here’s something to consider. It may not be happening because you’re doing something wrong. It may be happening because you’re doing something right. The moment you became a Christian, you entered into a spiritual battle, so you’ve got to learn how to fight and how to use the weaponry that God has given to you.
Practical Principles
- Recognize you are in a spiritual battle and it must be fought with spiritual weapons. You fight fire with fire, and the way to overcome the devil and his demons is to put on spiritual armor, “the full armor of God.”
- Satan is a super being and he is more than we can ever handle. Our objective should be to stay as far away from the devil as we possibly can.
- There are six pieces of armor mentioned in Ephesians. The belt of truth speaks of purity. The breastplate of righteousness speaks of integrity. Having your feet shod with the preparation with the gospel of peace speaks of mobility. The helmet and shield speak of protecting your mind and heart from Satan’s fiery darts. The sword of the Spirit is our only offensive weapon.
- The devil will fire his arrows at us. You never know when it’s going to happen. Satan’s flaming arrows are swift and silent. There’s no advance warning of their arrival.
Relevant Reminders
- Start the day with the Word of God and with prayer, and that will equip you to deal with all the stuff that’s going to come your way.
- God is more powerful than the devil and all the demons. Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world.
- Positionally before God we are righteous. We stand in this special relationship with the Lord because of Jesus Christ.
Applicable Actions
How do I gain ground? Very simple answer: by proclaiming the gospel. That’s how we advance in the spiritual battle. Romans 10:14 asks, “How can they call on Him unless they believe in Him? How can they believe in Him unless they’ve heard about Him? How can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? How will anyone go and tell them unless they’re sent?” And that it is why the Scripture says, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news.”
