Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 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. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. (Ephesians 6:10-13 — New American Standard Bible)
This passage is one of the most famous, richly rewarding, and practical in all of the New Testament. It states a simple but deep truth that many people do not understand: our struggle in life is not against people and situations, but against negative spiritual forces — the devil and his demons.
The large majority of people would react to this statement with something like this: “Naw! That’s so old fashioned. Demons! Are you kidding? We’re living in modern times, there’s no such thing as demons.” This is a modern world, but where have our modern ways gotten us? We have more addictions and depression than ever before in human history, we have high divorce rates, and in spite of huge advances in medicine, we still have many incurable diseases. Recent projections say that by 2016 over half of all births in England will be out of wedlock… How modern and advanced we are!
Most people would admit that at some point they’ve come face to face with evil, that something dark and evil came over them or entered into a situation they were dealing with — and some feel this dark power every single day. Others would not admit to a sense of darkness, but have lives that lack any real happiness or success. They may have money, but they’re a failure at relationships. Others can’t control their anger no matter what they try. Some people experience strings of bad luck, a continual series of negative events or accidents that are too common to be considered normal. Because of this we have two options: explain away the evil we experience as “life”, or acknowledge the actual existence of negative spiritual forces and fight against them.
In this passage Paul encourages us to: “be strong in the Lord”… “put on the full armor of God”… “stand firm against the schemes of the devil”. When we acknowledge the existence of evil spirits we can then take the next step and fight against them and win. But if we don’t acknowledge them, and pretend they don’t exist, there’s no way to fight against them.
Christians have dropped the ball in a big way when it comes to this subject. Few know how to fight against evil, or have the boldness and courage to resist Satan and demons in Jesus’ name. It’s a subject that many consider too messy and complicated to deal with, except, when we ignore it that’s when our lives get real messy and complicated.
Decide that you are strong in the Lord and that you will fight against Satan and his demons from now on.
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