"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings" 1 Peter 5: 8-9
Ever watch those nature documentaries showing predators (lions, tigers, cheetahs, sharks, crocodiles) attacking its helpless prey? It's very sudden, very violent, and sometimes hard to watch. The above passage equates the devil similarly as anyone of those predators. If you ever see a deer, you will notice how alert they are. The slightest noise, scent, or movement attracts their attention, prompting them to flee at the slightest threat. We get a few deer in our front yard and every so often in the morning, I notice them watching me leave for work. They don't move, just stare at me determining if I am a threat to them. Usually, they run off not realizing I am in no condition to chase them, and quite frankly I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught them.
Spiritual warfare is a real thing. When we are called into the family of God, we are called into a very real battle. The good news is that we don't fight this battle on our own. God fights this battle for us and through us. But, we need to remain vigilant, for the devil would like to take things away from God and cause us to stumble and fall.
Growing up, I didn't believe in such things. The first image you get are demonic creatures and angels throwing down. And being I never saw this happening (outside of movies and comic books), I tended not to give spiritual warfare much attention. Spiritual warfare is a whole lot more subtle than we care to think.
Acts of spiritual warfare can be as simple as:
- telling the truth instead of lying
- not flipping off the guy who just cut you off in traffic
- gentle words for a family member
- drinking a soda instead of a beer
- not getting back at someone who wronged you
- an act of kindness just for the sake of it
It is a struggle. I fail more times than I am willing to admit. Usually given a choice between the Godly choice or the worldly choice, it is often very tempting to side with the world. Thus, we need to be vigilant when these choices occur, and they do occur often.
Often times, the enemy will do everything in his power to try and disrupt our lives. I have seen many times where the enemy strikes. This isn't to say everything bad is prompted and caused by the devil, and that we as people are all victims of our bad acts. People are sinful and in our sin, we can do hurtful things to each other. Also, our sin has consequences and our conduct can cause us to suffer for our bad choices. But, to ignore the spiritual forces out there bent on our destruction puts us at risk as well. We need to be vigilant about our own sin and the enemy that seeks to destroy us.
First, the devil HATES you!!! He doesn't want you happy, he wants you destroyed. His goal is chaos, pain, death, and destruction. He hates your parents, your friends, and your kids. That cute little baby you just saw - the devil hates them too. Since he hates us, he will do what he can to cause us pain and unhappiness.
I had not seen such spiritual warfare as concentrated (or I never noticed it) until our church's most current India trip. So much stuff was going on here to friends and families in the United States that could have caused distractions on the missions trip. And there was a lot of distractions. Did the devil cause all of this? Not necessarily, but sin and circumstances in a fallen world can allow him to wreak havoc in people's lives.
First, we had a young baby very sick in the hospital. Two of his grandparents, his aunt, and friends of the family were on the team. Another family member received a diagnosis for MS. My wife, who was on the team, and I received some devastating news regarding about our adoption process. Finally, a young son of another team member was rushed to the hospital with a fever and seizures. This leads into a situation where the enemy can attempt to get a foothold in our lives. It could be very easy to give up when circumstances like this occur.
There were a lot of tears shed, a lot of emotions were revealed. Lots of prayers were given, and in those moments God's presence was felt. God met people. He brought comfort and mercy and healing right where it was needed. It showed me how God uses the community of believers to bring healing and peace to those in need.
Ephesians 6: 10-20 discusses the armor of God and what it means. Verse 11 says "Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes". It's not our own strength or armor that we use here.
James 4: 7-8 says "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you..."
That's a very powerful assurance to have. That if we come near to God that He will come near to you. That's a sense of protection and security that is impossible to overlook.
For me, I was pretty angry and upset regarding our adoption news. The way it had been handled had left me fuming. Susan sensed it through my texts to her and the short phone chats we had. We both couldn't truly comfort each other as we were separated by many miles. This definitely left me open to spiritual warfare and could have disrupted our lives more.
Luckily for us, I believe we have a great support group with many members of our church. It never ever hurts to have a lot of people lifting you up in prayer. Susan got a lot of prayer while in India. She gave her testimony regarding the adoption process and received the blessing of many women from the congregation praying and crying around her. She came away blessed from that.
I buried myself helping others (a coping mechanism I use when going through stress). I also had people praying with and for me. You draw incredible strength through that and knowing you are not alone. I had people in my own church that I barely knew approach me, hugging me, and telling me they were praying for us. The devil flees when the people of God are united supporting one another in times of crisis. It is safer when you are in a group than on your own when a predator is stalking.
God provides his support in many ways to protect us. From His word, a simple prayer, or a shoulder to lean on - God provides what is needed. No matter where you find yourself, God is always with you. Lean into and press into that truth and you will be able to withstand whatever the enemy can bring at you. God places the right supports at the right times when we need it most. Know deep in your heart, that God never abandons you or leaves you on your own.
Ever watch those nature documentaries showing predators (lions, tigers, cheetahs, sharks, crocodiles) attacking its helpless prey? It's very sudden, very violent, and sometimes hard to watch. The above passage equates the devil similarly as anyone of those predators. If you ever see a deer, you will notice how alert they are. The slightest noise, scent, or movement attracts their attention, prompting them to flee at the slightest threat. We get a few deer in our front yard and every so often in the morning, I notice them watching me leave for work. They don't move, just stare at me determining if I am a threat to them. Usually, they run off not realizing I am in no condition to chase them, and quite frankly I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught them.
Spiritual warfare is a real thing. When we are called into the family of God, we are called into a very real battle. The good news is that we don't fight this battle on our own. God fights this battle for us and through us. But, we need to remain vigilant, for the devil would like to take things away from God and cause us to stumble and fall.
Growing up, I didn't believe in such things. The first image you get are demonic creatures and angels throwing down. And being I never saw this happening (outside of movies and comic books), I tended not to give spiritual warfare much attention. Spiritual warfare is a whole lot more subtle than we care to think.
Acts of spiritual warfare can be as simple as:
- telling the truth instead of lying
- not flipping off the guy who just cut you off in traffic
- gentle words for a family member
- drinking a soda instead of a beer
- not getting back at someone who wronged you
- an act of kindness just for the sake of it
It is a struggle. I fail more times than I am willing to admit. Usually given a choice between the Godly choice or the worldly choice, it is often very tempting to side with the world. Thus, we need to be vigilant when these choices occur, and they do occur often.
Often times, the enemy will do everything in his power to try and disrupt our lives. I have seen many times where the enemy strikes. This isn't to say everything bad is prompted and caused by the devil, and that we as people are all victims of our bad acts. People are sinful and in our sin, we can do hurtful things to each other. Also, our sin has consequences and our conduct can cause us to suffer for our bad choices. But, to ignore the spiritual forces out there bent on our destruction puts us at risk as well. We need to be vigilant about our own sin and the enemy that seeks to destroy us.
First, the devil HATES you!!! He doesn't want you happy, he wants you destroyed. His goal is chaos, pain, death, and destruction. He hates your parents, your friends, and your kids. That cute little baby you just saw - the devil hates them too. Since he hates us, he will do what he can to cause us pain and unhappiness.
I had not seen such spiritual warfare as concentrated (or I never noticed it) until our church's most current India trip. So much stuff was going on here to friends and families in the United States that could have caused distractions on the missions trip. And there was a lot of distractions. Did the devil cause all of this? Not necessarily, but sin and circumstances in a fallen world can allow him to wreak havoc in people's lives.
First, we had a young baby very sick in the hospital. Two of his grandparents, his aunt, and friends of the family were on the team. Another family member received a diagnosis for MS. My wife, who was on the team, and I received some devastating news regarding about our adoption process. Finally, a young son of another team member was rushed to the hospital with a fever and seizures. This leads into a situation where the enemy can attempt to get a foothold in our lives. It could be very easy to give up when circumstances like this occur.
There were a lot of tears shed, a lot of emotions were revealed. Lots of prayers were given, and in those moments God's presence was felt. God met people. He brought comfort and mercy and healing right where it was needed. It showed me how God uses the community of believers to bring healing and peace to those in need.
Ephesians 6: 10-20 discusses the armor of God and what it means. Verse 11 says "Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes". It's not our own strength or armor that we use here.
James 4: 7-8 says "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you..."
That's a very powerful assurance to have. That if we come near to God that He will come near to you. That's a sense of protection and security that is impossible to overlook.
For me, I was pretty angry and upset regarding our adoption news. The way it had been handled had left me fuming. Susan sensed it through my texts to her and the short phone chats we had. We both couldn't truly comfort each other as we were separated by many miles. This definitely left me open to spiritual warfare and could have disrupted our lives more.
Luckily for us, I believe we have a great support group with many members of our church. It never ever hurts to have a lot of people lifting you up in prayer. Susan got a lot of prayer while in India. She gave her testimony regarding the adoption process and received the blessing of many women from the congregation praying and crying around her. She came away blessed from that.
I buried myself helping others (a coping mechanism I use when going through stress). I also had people praying with and for me. You draw incredible strength through that and knowing you are not alone. I had people in my own church that I barely knew approach me, hugging me, and telling me they were praying for us. The devil flees when the people of God are united supporting one another in times of crisis. It is safer when you are in a group than on your own when a predator is stalking.
God provides his support in many ways to protect us. From His word, a simple prayer, or a shoulder to lean on - God provides what is needed. No matter where you find yourself, God is always with you. Lean into and press into that truth and you will be able to withstand whatever the enemy can bring at you. God places the right supports at the right times when we need it most. Know deep in your heart, that God never abandons you or leaves you on your own.
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