#47 in the Series: Daddy, It's Me--Conversations of an Ordinary Person
with an Extraordinary Heavenly Father
““I have told you these things,
so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take
heart! I have overcome the world.””
John 16:33 NIV
Those struggles can
drive us to God or drive a wedge between us and God. What makes the difference is whether
we are aware of the source of those struggles.
“The thief comes only to steal
and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the
full.”
John 10:10 NIV
The thief--the devil
and his minions--comes only to steal…steal your identity, your knowledge of who
you are as a creation of God and, if you have accepted Christ, who you are as a
Child of God.
He comes to
kill…kill your dreams.
He comes to
destroy…destroy your hope, your family, your relationships, your health and
more. And especially he whispers to
you lies about the Heavenly Father…just like he did with Adam and Eve and every
human being since, attempting to destroy that relationship as well!
How do we take on
the devil and win?
“Be alert and of sober mind.
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to
devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the
family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV
Be alert! Pay attention! The devil IS trying to trip you up so he can
destroy you! Resist him! It is work!
You can’t just go with the flow and expect him not to win.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord
and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take
your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil
comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done
everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around
your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet
fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to
all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the
flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of
the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions
with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always
keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV
Be
strong IN THE LORD! Take refuge in
him…in His armor! He is like
impenetrable robot armor surrounding you…but you have to be IN Him! That armor
consists of:
- Belt of Truth…understanding and walking in the Truth of God’s Word.
- Breastplate of righteousness…being in right standing with God by accepting the gift of salvation and obeying Christ’s commands.
- Shoes of the gospel…being ready, willing, able, and eager to share the Good News of Jesus.
- Helmet of Salvation…guarding your mind and thoughts, having Christ and His Word in you so that you think His thoughts and recognize thoughts that aren’t His
- Shield of Faith…extinguishing all the darts of the wicked one. How did Jesus do this? With scripture from the Word of God. Get to know your Bible so when the devil whispers a lie, you will recognize it for what it is.
- Sword of the Spirit…also the Word of God. It is thus both defensive as the Shield and offensive as the Sword, enabling you to advance on the enemy’s camp and take back the captives.
- Prayers in all it’s forms…praise is a weapon as well as petition.
“For though we live in the
world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not
the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish
strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up
against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it
obedient to Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NIV
The battle is
engaged in your mind. Take your God
thoughts captive…put them in a safe place…hide them in your heart…and command
all other thoughts to agree with God’s.
Don’t forget to hang
on to hope. Sometimes the answer takes a
while.
“Then he continued, “Do not be
afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain
understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard,
and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted
me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me,
because I was detained there with the king of Persia.”
Daniel 10:12-13 NIV
The
devil may seem like a formidable foe, but remember, Jesus already won!
“Then Jesus made a public
spectacle of all the powers and principalities of darkness, stripping away from
them every weapon and all their spiritual authority and power to accuse us. And
by the power of the cross, Jesus led them around as prisoners in a procession
of triumph. He was not their prisoner; they were his!”
Colossians 2:15 TPT
When you
run into troubles, don’t forget who the enemy is. Resist him and stand firm in
what you have been taught in scripture.
Run to God for help. He will give
it to you along with freedom for your mustang heart.
Note: One of the best books I have studied on
spiritual warfare is Cindy Trimm’s Rules
of Engagement. I highly recommend
it if you are interested in more information on this topic.
P.S. If
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Teri