We are at War

As 2024 ends, one of the things that has hit me during the holiday season is how many people I know who are facing difficulties. I know families who struggled through Christmas due to grief, due to sickness, due to financial challenges, and due to estranged relationships. Life is hard because we are at war. Are you feeling it too? You are not alone, and my prayer for us this year is that we will grab onto the tools that we need to overcome when we go toe-to-toe with Satan. Because the reality is that he is our only enemy. When my husband and I do not agree on something, he is not my enemy. When my child is not obeying me, she is not my enemy. When my employer makes a decision that I do not agree with, he is not my enemy. When my friend chooses a lifestyle that I would not have chosen, she is not my enemy. I have one enemy, and he is clearly identified in Ephesians 6:12.

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

He started this war in the garden when he deceived Eve with the forbidden fruit. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and eat it, they brought sin into the world; sin that separated us from our Creator. That deception started a war. A war that means we are going to face really hard things. Some of those things will be life-altering, and some of them will be inconvenient. While Satan has been working since that moment to destroy us, God has been trying to gather us back to Him. 

Our war is not a physical war. It is a spiritual war. There are two forces at work vying for your soul. That is how important you are. That is how much you matter. God created you and wants you to live with Him in Heaven for all eternity. Satan wants you too. He wants to destroy you. You are valuable. Because the war we are facing is not earthly, it can not be fought with earthly weapons. 

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage battle according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

The suffering this war causes is very real and very hard. The pain and hurt cut us deep. It changes us. As we fight, we will be forced to choose between the two who are competing for our souls: the One who saved us and the one who seeks to destroy us. 

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

We can choose to take up the tools that God has given us or to succumb to the evil one. We can choose light, or we can choose darkness. If we choose light, God has provided everything we need to fight this war and win. If we trust in Him, if we believe in Him, we are guaranteed a victory. How can we know that? Because Jesus fought and died for us. He was resurrected. He overcame death. His sacrifice guarantees our citizenship in Heaven. 

Are you ready to fight? You are equipped. God would never ask us to do something without giving us everything we need to do it well. He has not left us to fight this war alone. Grounded in the truth and focused on the gift of the cross, we can overcome evil and darkness.