Yesterday, I posted about why we face spiritual warfare. This battle is real for God’s people as we face principalities and powers (Eph. 6:12). It’s possible, though, that you may not be facing spiritual attack today. Here are some reasons that might be the case:
- You’re in a God-given season of rest. Sometimes we find ourselves under a less serious time of spiritual attack, and that time almost feels like a break—a blessing of God that allows us to focus on Him, all the while knowing that the enemy will come back at a “more opportune time” (Luke 4:12). Those seasons are usually brief, and they do not happen often for the believer who genuinely wants to seek and honor God.
- You’re not really a believer. The Bible describes lost people as following the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2), blinded by the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:3-4), residing in darkness (Col. 1:13), caught in the devil’s snare (2 Tim. 2:26), and living under the power of Satan (Acts 26:18). Put the entire picture together, and here’s what you get: non-believers are in the enemy’s kingdom. Those who are already in his camp don’t frighten him.
- Your life simply doesn’t threaten the enemy. Satan and his forces aren’t much concerned about believers who continually give in to temptation and ignore the command to make disciples through evangelism and equipping. He’s not alarmed when we go through the motions of church in our power. He doesn’t get stressed when we live so closely to the world that non-believers see no transforming power in the gospel. Though the story of Acts 19:11-15 isn’t exactly what I’m describing here, too many believers today live in such a way that the enemy says, “Jesus I know. Paul I know. But who are you?” He needs to waste few arrows on people who aren’t even on his radar screen.
So, does this mean that we should welcome spiritual warfare? Not at all. It simply means that we live in the tension of crying out, “Father, . . . Deliver us from the evil one” (Matt. 6:13) even as we invade the enemy’s darkness with the light of the gospel. Press on, wearing the full armor of God!
I admire your willingness to confront controversial positions. One of the big problems that I have seen having been mostly in the support staff roles, rather than the pastor has been those who have been reluctant to drive down a stake and say, “This is where I stand.” In my work for over 3 years with a UMC congregation, the whole denomination was trying to be all things to all people, and their so wanting to be politically correct. Don’t get me wrong, I love the people that I worked with there, and it was disconcerting to see those who wanted the Gospel, the Whole Gospel, and nothing but the Gospel to be preached.
Do Spiritual attacks come? Oh yes, but we don’t have to fight against them in our own strength. Keep up the good work and look forward to your daily blogs..
Thanks, John. Blessings!