As a follower of Christ, you must also understand spiritual warfare. The simple explanation is as a believer, you are on God’s team. The enemy, Satan, who hates God, goes after His kids, that’s us. So, he constantly is using everything he can to bring us down and keep us down.You see, the enemy will magnify our insecurities, destroy our passion for spiritual things, cause division and dissension within our family, remind us of past mistakes and failures, and he doesn’t want us living out our God-given purpose. Scripture tells us that Satan is the father of all lies.(John 8:44) God has a plan for our life, but so does the enemy. Satan has many strategies, and we are warned about him, but also, we have victory over him.
1 Peter 5:8 (NLT) warns us this; “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”
1 Peter 5:8 (HCSB) Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.”
Notice the exclamation point after “stay alert,” and “Be serious, and Be alert.” Those words do not convey casual talk from Peter in any translation. Now look at the word “like,” which you will find in all the translations, our enemy is an imposter. Jesus is the real Lion, the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5). Satan must lie and deceive to get what he wants, and we are his target.
One strategy the enemy uses is just what a lion does to his prey, he isolates them.
Satan isolates to devour!
*Is fear keeping you isolated? (Fear is one of the enemy’s strategies) God did not give us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
*Are you around like-minded people? (Philippians 2:2)
*1 Peter 5:9 immediately tells us to “Resist him, standing firm in the faith……”
Friends, spiritual warfare is part of our everyday life. Some things happen that are just life, and if you are growing in your faith, serving the Lord, and strengthening the Kingdom in any way, you will experience the enemy’s tactics. However, we are fighting from a place of victory, and we have an armor we can put on and activate by prayer.
You will find this armor in Ephesians 6:10-20. This passage is known as “The Armor of God.” When you read these verses, mentally put each piece on and pray as you do. The enemy will go after the weak, but with the armor on and praise on our lips, the cowardly lion can’t devour and runs in defeat.
Father God, we are standing firm and from a place of victory! Thank you for your armor and may we all live in the spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
