Garrett and I celebrated 4 years of marriage this past March! God is at work doing exciting things in our lives! I love him dearly and would do it all over again if I had the choice. But if I were to sit here and tell you it was bliss 24/7 the entire 4 years I would be lying. This post isn’t just about marriage and it will all make sense in a moment so bear with me.
You see my husband and I very early on into our marriage felt this strong sense that God had something big for us to do. We couldn’t put our finger on what it was. We just knew.
Does anyone out there know that when God has a call on your life, the enemy doesn’t like it? Well, we were attacked by our insecurities and weaknesses. Of course, that’s where the enemy attacks first. As we struggled early on in our marriage, we came to the realization that we aren’t really struggling with each other.
“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.” Ephesians 6:12 NIV
The above verse might sound ridiculous to you. You might think either evil forces aren’t real or that stuff doesn’t happen anymore. Well, you’re wrong because it really is a thing.
Satan isn’t a fairy tale. I’m not trying to scare or freak you out by sharing this. As Christians, we need to be aware that a lot of times there’s more going on then what we can see with our eyes.
The enemy loves to twist the truth and cause dissension and confusion. He makes us question the good things in our lives brought on by God. He causes us to doubt the Words in the Bible that are accurate and true even today. He certainly doesn’t want us to memorize or apply the Bible to our lives.
If you didn’t’ already know this, there are crucial, God appointed moments in life. The enemy wants us to be distracted and miss those opportunities. He wants to harden us to the still small voice inside whispering to go talk to that person over there struggling. Call that person you haven’t talked to in ages. You get what I’m saying right?
When Garrett and I realized we weren’t struggling against each other, but evil forces at work, our marriage took a drastic shift. We knew that we had a call on our lives and the enemy was trying as hard as he could to tear it apart. We began to start fighting the enemy instead of each other.
It’s no different for you. There are things God has called you to do and the enemy is fighting to destroy that call. It might be that the enemy is currently using your spouse, kid, a friend, or negative people in your life to drive you crazy. Or it could be that you’re distracted with hidden unforgiveness, greed, envy, fear, an addiction, or other things.
If we aren’t equipped with the truth, we won’t know how to fight or when it’s happening. We truly are at war spiritually. God doesn’t just tell us the verse above and leave us hanging. God gives us clear instruction on how to fight the enemy.
Here’s how we fight our battles against the enemy
First, we must put on the armor of God in preparation.
“ 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.” Ephesians 6:10-11 NIV
- TRUTH – Belt
- RIGHTEOUSNESS – Breastplate
- GOSPEL OF PEACE – Shoes
- FAITH – Shield
- SALVATION – Helmet
How to fight back?
All of these pieces of armor protect us but how do we fight back? The final piece to complete our armor is our weapon: The SWORD! The SWORD is the Word of God. When we know the scriptures and have it written in our hearts, we can deal heavy blows to the enemy!
Don’t be like Eve who saw a shiny apple that promised her not only deliciousness but power. She was deceived into thinking it was a good thing but was obviously wrong. Be like Jesus who showed us how to fight back with declaring the truth of the Bible when Satan attacked.
My father-in-law recently showed us a video of a Promise Keepers event he attended in 1993. The late E.V. Hill spoke a powerful message about hitting the enemy with God’s Word to a crowd of 50,000 men. The men were so moved by the Holy Spirit that they began chanting “Hit him!” over and over again. E.V. Hill sat back down letting the Spirit move and they continued on.
Why am I sharing this with you? Because that’s what you and I need to do – HIT HIM! You and I aren’t defenseless against the enemy! Some of us for years have been running around like scared and beaten down puppies. That’s how the enemy wants you to feel but that’s not reality!
You weren’t a mistake, God created you on purpose! Stop being confused about your identity. He doesn’t make mistakes! You no longer have to fear the enemy or what life throws at you! You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength (Philippians 4:13)!
God has complete and total victory and so do you! The enemy is defeated and sometimes he needs a reminder! You are a strong, mighty man or woman of God and it’s time to take a stand! God has called you to do GREAT things!
One final thing
“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.” Ephesians 6:18 NIV
Prayer is a powerful thing. Why else would the above verse show such emphasis on doing so? We must always be praying for each other and be alert of the enemy’s schemes because it won’t always be obvious. Recognize who the true enemy is.
Will you take the fight to him?!
A Prayer For You
Lord Jesus, thank You for equipping us with these truths on how to fight the enemy. Show us when the enemy is at work so there is no confusion or distractions from Your call. Thank You that I am victorious because You are victorious. In Jesus’ name, amen!
Stay hopeful!
