Your Walk is Your Warfare

The life of Job—the death of his children, the loss of his possessions and wealth, the disease that ravaged his body, and his wife’s evil counsel—is a life of suffering, but ultimately, it is a story of allegiance. Satan instigated the devastation, but ultimately, God allowed the spiritual warfare to reveal the loyalty of Job’s soul. Job faced a moral choice: whom will he serve?      

The same spiritual battle plays out in your life. Satan has no authority beyond what God permits in your every day experiences. God tolerates Satan’s presence today to give you the opportunity to demonstrate your superior desirability to honor Jesus rather than the evils of this world.

Do you realize how Satan works against you? His very name means “adversary,” and throughout Scripture his other names reveal his nature: the Devil (slanderer), Lucifer (morning star), the Old Serpent (Gen. 3), the Great Dragon (a destroying beast), the Evil One, the Destroyer, the Tempter, the Accuser, and the Deceiver. Each name reflects his consistent mission: to deceive, destroy, kill, incite disunity and division, manipulate, influence, tempt, and confuse for the purpose of keeping God’s people deceived about God and Christ and living a life of holiness (Matt. 12:26; Rev. 12:9–10).

Are you able to recognize his presence today in the everyday issues of your life? It becomes easy to fall for the strategies of Satan when you make Christianity primarily intellectual, never considering the spiritual dimension and that some evil in your life might actually be the work of Satan and his spiritual powers of darkness. On the other hand, you are also not to attribute every difficulty and hardship to Satan.      
 
So, what are Satan’s strategies in your world today? The Evil One loves nothing more than making you miserable, blinded, confused, deceived, and hopeless for the ultimate purpose of you giving up on Jesus Christ and living a life honoring to Him. The Evil One will use whatever mundane, every day, justifiable sin in your life as his main strategy to destroy you and your relationships. Satan is the primary, behind-the-scenes protagonist in the everyday problems of sin, misery, and death. This daily spiritual battle you endure is ultimately over who you are in Christ, what you believe about Christ and God, and how you live according to His loving commands.

As John closes his letter, he reminds us that Jesus Christ is our ultimate protection from the Evil One. Christ calls you to a daily Christian walk that is your spiritual warfare knowing that Christ is the ultimate warrior in a battle where Satan cannot touch you (1 John 5:18-19). In Christ you are to take the battle to the darkness not just sit back in a defensive position. You do this when you live with faith, humility, love, goodness, courage, resilience and wisdom while boldly facing all the dark evil forces that oppose such things. You do battle when you give mercy as Christ has given you mercy. You do battle when you forgive others as God in Christ has forgiven you. You do battle when you love as Christ loved you and gave Himself for you. You do battle when you submit yourself completely to the Truth of God’s Word. You do battle when you pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ who are in this battle with you. This is your walk and warfare. This is Christ’s call to you.

See you Sunday, victorious in the battle: Steve