Our Battle
There is a battle raging right at this very moment. I’m not talking about the battle between Russian and the Ukraine. The battle is one that you and I are engaged in. You may be thinking, “I’m not in a battle.” Believe me, you are. And the enemy we have is one that we cannot see but is surely there.
We are in a battle for something more important than land, wealth or any material thing. We are in a battle for our souls. Satan is the enemy. He is trying to destroy each one of us. His main goal is to get us to forget about our God and to follow our own way. His way leads to sin and death. And He is always trying.
We read of Jesus being in the wilderness for 40 days. He has not eaten any food and is hungry. Satan tempts Him with food, jumping off the highest place of the temple, and even bowing down to him. Every time our Lord uses Scripture to fight off this evil one (thus, the importance of knowing what the Bible teaches). Satan is defeated. Luke 4:13 tells us, “When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.” (NASB)
If you will notice it does not say the devil never tempted Him again. He left Him until an opportune time. Jesus never gave in to Him and became the perfect sacrifice that God is pleased with. Jesus went the distance for each one of us. He went all the way to the cross because He loved each one of us enough to die for us in our place.
Satan will continue to try to separate you from Christ. Sadly, in some cases he will succeed. But we must be vigilant and ever ready to fend him off.
The apostle Paul tells it this way in Ephesians 6:10-17, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Our battle is a spiritual battle, and it takes a great deal of diligence on our part to overcome the schemes of the wicked one. We fight against the forces of evil. Do notice that one of the weapons that we are to use is the Word of God. The Bible is the best way to engage in this fight. If you don’t know what it says, you may lose the battle. Read every day. Study to learn. Apply it to your lives. And remember, the devil will not give up totally. He will keep coming back. Keep fighting!!