Experiencing Spiritual Warfare? What To Do and How to Stay Encouraged
In When God Says "No," Don't Even Nibble, we looked at how the devil strategizes in spiritual warfare.
We talked about how his methods are usually subtle rather than in-your-face and how he attempts to cast doubt on God's good intentions. He does all this while disguising evil as good to make us compromise morally.
Today, let's look at Satan's motives for wanting us to sin.
If we're clueless about his motives, it can be pretty disillusioning to suddenly find ourselves under spiritual attack for no apparent reason. When you've been faithfully serving God, loving your family, and pouring into your personal relationship with Jesus, an avalanche of tests and temptations comes at you from out of nowhere.
On the other hand, if we know something about why Satan and his demons want to trip us up, this can help give us perspective as well as reassurance when the battle is particularly rough. (Yep, thinking biblically is always helpful!)
The first thing we should recognize is that the spiritual attacks are not only to hurt US; they are to hurt GOD.
To parents, their kids are their most prized possessions. If you want to hurt the parent, you go after the kids. Satan hates God with a passion, and since you and I are God's adopted children created in His image, harming us is one way that the enemy tries to get to God.
Second, the devil is consumed with prideful jealousy. He is jealous that you and I have sworn allegiance to Jesus. Ever since he rebelled against God and got kicked out of heaven (Isaiah 14:12), he has been in cosmic spiritual warfare against his Creator. The way he sees it, you and I are deserters, having taken God's side against him.
Keep in mind that there was a time before we were saved when we belonged to Satan. We were his slaves, carrying out his will (whether we realized it or not). We had no desire for holiness, no interest in serving the Lord.
In fact, we, too, hated God (Romans 1:30).
Enter Jesus.
God, in His mercy, snatches us from the fires of hell. He breathes life into our dying souls and gives us holy desires. He causes us to fall in love with Him. He writes our names in the Book of Life and seals us with His Spirit. With that, we are eternally secure. It is finished.
The angels in heaven are rejoicing! Hallelujah! The devil has lost another soul!
Can you imagine how this divine rescue operation must have made Satan feel? As if he wasn't already raging against God!
Third, consider that once our time on planet Earth is over, Satan and his demons will lose every last little bit of their influence over us Christians. Forever!
The enemy undoubtedly knows this. He knows he's living on borrowed time. We learn in the Bible that some of his goals are to discourage and distract us in our walk with Jesus, discredit our testimony, and bring dishonor to God's name. And those are just a few of the items on his to-do list!
Is it any wonder the forces of hell are working so hard to try to make our earthly lives miserable?
Fourth, the devil knows the devastation will be greater if he can get us to partake in evil. If we simply slipped and fell into his clutches, and this fall took place without our participation, we wouldn't be at fault. We would be helpless victims.
However, when we willingly disobey the Lord, we ally with the enemy. Satan is a tormentor, and he revels in how you and I bring unnecessary affliction upon ourselves through our disobedience in the form of shame and regret.
Our disobedience also causes a breach (even if only temporary) in our relationship with God. I suppose this may, for a moment, give the devil the illusion that he's winning. Or maybe it just soothes his ego to know he isn't going down without a fight.
Finally, let's recognize that the more we try to do for God, the bigger target we'll be for demonic opposition. The more the enemy sees us as a threat, the more he'll try to block us. If we find ourselves under spiritual attack, then, it's a sign we're doing something right: we're in the Lord's will!
Knowing a thing or two about Satan's methods and motives, here are some closing thoughts on how to stand strong in spiritual warfare.
I believe our initial desire to sin must be surrendered to God (repeatedly, if need be, until He chooses to remove it). As James 4:7 says, "Submit yourself therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
Getting the devil to flee isn't always as simple as saying a quick prayer or reciting a few Bible verses. The "submitting" this verse talks about is a complete, ongoing yielding of the will, and the "resisting" can be a painful and lengthy process.
In Mark 14:38, Jesus orders His disciples to "keep watching and praying." You and I must do the same. We must guard against spiritual attacks, recognizing that "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (same verse).
The minute we become aware that temptation is knocking, we must pray—pray to God to help us resist the very first impulse to sin. Once we give in to the initial temptation, resisting subsequent ones will only become much more challenging.
We may pray something like this: "Lord, I'm feeling tempted right now. As much as I love You and want to do the right thing, a part of me doesn't want to obey You. I surrender my impure desires right now and ask You to cleanse me. Even as I pray this, a part of me is resisting. I confess it and turn over this part of my heart, too, to Your will. Please give me the desire to obey You. Amen."
In spiritual warfare, as in any other type of war, it's critical to understand your opponent. This way, you can avoid getting set up and walking into an ambush.
By familiarizing ourselves with what the Bible says about Satan's scheming and by remaining watchful and prayerful, we can maintain the upper hand. And because we know the devil's motives behind the spiritual attacks, we can stay encouraged through it all: God's got our back. We're on the right side.
L.B.
If you missed Part 1 of this post, click here for When God Says “No,” Don’t Even Nibble.
Have you ever experienced spiritual warfare? What helped you come out victorious? Please share in the comments section below!
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