Posted on 09/05/2018 9:20:09 PM PDT by metmom
"Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might . . . . 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" (Eph. 6:10, 12).
Spiritual warfare can be intense, but God’s grace enables you to prevail against Satan’s attacks.
Through the ages Satan has accused, besieged, and battered believers in an effort to prevent them from living to the glory of God. He attempts to snatch the gospel message from a person's heart even before salvation occurs (Matt. 13:19). He bombards believers with false doctrine, trying to confuse and distract them from biblical truth (Eph. 4:14).
Martin Luther reported that his conflict with Satan became so intense that at one point it was as if he could see him. In anger over Satan's incessant attacks, Luther picked up his inkwell and threw it at him. It hit the wall with a resounding crash, splattering ink throughout the room. The stains remained for many years, reminding all who saw them of how vivid spiritual conflict can be.
You may not have experienced anything like the intensity of Martin Luther's conflict, but spiritual warfare is just as real for you as it was for him. You are in mortal combat with Satan and his evil forces. That's why Paul said, "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against . . . spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12).
"Struggle" in that verse speaks of life-and-death, hand-to-hand combat—the kind Jesus Himself experienced while on earth. He met opposition and persecution at every turn. The same was true of Paul and the other apostles as they dealt with Jewish religionists, heathens, sorcerers, and demon-possessed people who tried in vain to thwart their missionary efforts.
Satan's onslaughts may seem overwhelming at times, but don't be discouraged. See them for what they are: a defeated foe's last-ditch efforts to inflict damage on the conquering army. The Lord will strengthen and protect you, just as He has protected all believers before you.
Suggestions for Prayer
Praise God for being your protector and the source of spiritual victory.
For Further Study
Read Acts 4:1-22.
What kind of opposition did Peter and John face? How did they respond to the Jewish Council's order not to preach the gospel?
Studying God’s Word ping
What’s frustrating is when we believers are not in it for the long haul...
We get too comfortable after a single victory in one battle, forgetting that the WAR is only just beginning.
Politically speaking: Think of Brexit. Think of Trump’s election...Those events marked the beginnings to even MORE battles ahead. Yet people rest easy too quickly, not realizing that the enemy knows how to re-gather momentum in attempts to take back his turf! Let’s hope this does not happen at the midterms in November!
And spiritually speaking our war never ends - until we leave this earth.
I call prayer prayer “hand to hand spritual combat”.
It is so easy to rest on our laurels. In this day and age, it is all happening so fast and doubling in intensity, it is easy to keep striving for 'homeostasis.' Yet the idea of homeostasis (as once seemed to exist for long periods of time) is gone. The only steady peace is God and doing His will to the best of my ability.
I am now approaching each day with a total surrender to anything at any time and that includes multiple attacks from multiple and often unexpected areas. It just strengthens my surrender and non attachment to worldly things.
And yes to all you said about political/global evil. We are all being given the opportunity to practice full reliance upon God and to do His will constantly as well as stand strong in that truth. The evil is more than palpable. It is in full war mode.
I now need to go read the original post. I always learn so much from these articles. ;D Thanks for your share.
Thanks for posting.
Yes - we are flawed human mortals and would never become, or stay, worthy except by His incredible gift of love and forgiveness...recognition of our continuing flaws can only be remedied by the conviction that “The poor in spirit will inherit the Kingdom....”
BTTT
Satan’s stuff is mostly psychological warfare, countervailing thoughts, inner doubts, fears and past failures brought forward, the ‘you can’ts’ and ‘you’ll nevers’, stuff like that.
And it’s there, in our thoughts, that’s where he wins and we fail. We listen, we give in and we give up. We quit in the moment and go with the devil’s easy ‘pseudo-truth’ instead of working through his noise for the victory.
Because, more often than not, if the devil’s attacks are countered with thought and, even better, with action, too, then he disappears like a mist, like a training aid no longer needed.
Win! All glory to God.
True that.
It’s a matter of choice of believing the truth or the enemy’s lies.
It makes all the difference in the world.
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