Monday, June 7

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. 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 6:1-3

Ephesians 1:3 tells us that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. It should not surprise us then that Paul tells us that just as we have spiritual blessings from God, we will experience spiritual opposition from Satan. This is the point at which the unseen battle for our souls takes place, between the spiritual forces of evil and God’s mighty power.  We are equipped with His grace, with confidence in our identity as His children, with His resurrection power and with the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  We have all we need to engage the enemy, but who is our enemy?

Do you ever feel like you are fighting a battle you can’t win?

Do you ever feel as though you are struggling against and unknown enemy?

Perhaps the greatest danger we face is a failure to recognize that the flesh and blood we see before us is not our real enemy.  The real enemy is the unseen power that manipulates, motivates and drives them.  Failure to make that distinction will not only lead us to rely on human-centered tactics and strategies rather than the strength and power of the Lord, it can result in unnecessary and unhelpful hurting of people whom God loves.

It is all too easy to see the terrorist, the hostile atheist, the corrupt politician or CEO as the target of our struggle to see God’s Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.  The problem we discover is that eliminating one terrorist gives birth to ten more.  Influencing one political party is no guarantee of success.  Jailing fraudulent CEO’s does little to change corporate culture.  Evil must be opposed wherever it exists. But we must never lose sight of two facts; first, that all people matter to God. Second, that powers, not people are the ultimate problem. 

This is why Paul tells us to trust in God’s mighty power and put on the armor he provides.  When David confronted Goliath (1 Samuel 17), Saul, the king of Israel offered his royal armor to him.  But David refused it. First of all, it didn’t fit, because David was just a youth and Saul was a head taller than anyone else in Israel when he was crowned.  More importantly, Saul’s armor was suited to fighting flesh and blood battles. David understood that while he faced a real flesh and blood foe, he was also fighting a spiritual battle; the arrogance of Goliath, the blasphemous defiance of the Philistines or the despair and terror of Israel would take more than conventional flesh and blood weapons to defeat. David’s faith in the God of Israel, and the simplest man-made weapon would kill the giant.  We should all remember David’s words on that occasion:

All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give all of you into our hands.
- 1 Samuel 17: 47

Sovereign Lord, we thank you that you have given us all the equipment we need to face our real enemy.  Now grant us your power, we pray, and the discernment we need to focus our efforts on the real battle – Amen.

Jeff Frazier