In the Battle - Ephesians 6:12

 

Maybe you’re a people pleaser. Maybe you struggle with wanting to be “good enough”...and knowing that you are never going to be.  Maybe you have a secret (or not so secret) addiction or struggle with guilt over things you can’t “fix”. Maybe your past haunts you, or your future scares you. Maybe you are struggling in your marriage or you aren’t the parent you’d hoped you’d be. Maybe there are people in your life who just push your buttons and drive you crazy. Maybe you are filled with rage,  selfishness, pride, vanity, bitterness, or unforgiveness.

No matter what they LOOK like, all these things we struggle with come from the same source. Scripture says this….

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

THIS is the battle.

If you have not professed Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, the battle is for your soul. Satan has done, is doing, and will continue to do everything within his power to keep you from a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  

If you are a Christian, Satan has no claim to your soul. His focus is to make you miserable, to steal your joy, to tarnish your witness and quiet your testimony.

THIS is the battle. I fight it every day, and, whether you realize it or not,  so do you.  Do you sense when Satan is attacking you and call him out, or do you allow him to steal your joy, compromise your witness, and create dissention between you and the people in your life?

Earlier this week something I submitted was chosen to be used on an online devotional site. Not only that, but I was asked to write another devotion for the month of August. I was over the top excited! In the middle of telling a friend about this, my children called. The older one wanted to go to the pool. The younger didn’t want to go. One was yelling. The other was crying. Neither would listen to reason. Both were having a complete meltdown…over the POOL of all things. Before I even hung up the phone, I thought, “How can you tell complete strangers how to follow after God when you can’t even teach your kids how to?” As if reading my thoughts, my friend said, “You know that was Satan, right? I mean, your kids  never call freaking out like that.”

Do you see the battle? Do you see this battle in your own life? The scenarios are different. Still, there is a basic Satan / God battle going on every day. Do you see it?

Go back to my situation…with the kids and the fighting and the pool.

Instead of punishing them for being total brats, I explained that Satan used them. It was an awesome opportunity for me to help them see how Satan works in their lives and for them to recognize what it FEELS like when he attacks.

Over the next few days, I challenge you to pay attention. Call Satan out when he attacks. Shine light on his schemes to wreck your relationships and steal your joy.

We are In the Battle against Satan, not at war with one another.

Pray with me?

Father God, thank you for your Word. Thank you for reminding me that my battle is not against the people in my life, but against Satan. Help me to recognize Satan’s attacks and to call him out. Your Word tells me to resist the Devil and he must flee. I claim that promise Lord. Help me also to see YOUR hand at work in my life. Help me to look for ways each day to share your love with the people you have put in my path.

Amen