For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NKVJ))

War is real. Countries invade other countries. Lives are lost and devastation follows. It’s no surprise. Jesus told us in the last days we would “hear of wars and rumors of wars” (Matthew 24:6 (NKJV)).

But did you know that there is a spiritual war going on around you? A battle is being fought at this very moment in the spiritual realm. As the Bible explains, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)).

We’re at war. And many don’t even know it. That war is being fought over people’s souls and Christians’ lives. Although we can’t see it, it doesn’t make it any less real.

We get a peek into this spiritual realm through God’s prophet, Elisha. When Elisha and his servant were surrounded by a great army with horses and chariots, the servant was afraid (2 Kings 6:15). Wouldn’t you be afraid too? I would. But Elisha told his servant, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16 (NKJV)).

I’ll bet at first the servant thought Elisha had lost his mind. Maybe he looked at himself and then at Elisha. Yep, there were only two of them. Two. . . versus a great army. What was Elisha talking about?

Elisha then prayed that God would open the servant’s eyes so he could see (2 Kings 6:17). “Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:17 (NKJV)).

That must have been an amazing sight. Elisha’s servant was able to put on spiritual glasses (so to speak) to see what was really going on. He had the privilege of seeing what most are unable to witness.

We get more insight into the spiritual realm from another one of God’s prophets. Daniel had prayed for God to give him understanding about a vision. But his prayer wasn’t answered for three weeks.

When an angel came to answer his prayer, he told Daniel that his words had been heard “from the first day” he had “set [his] heart to understand” (Daniel 10:12 (NKJV)). Yet, the angel had been delayed by “the prince of the kingdom of Persia” – a fallen angel or demon – until Michael the Archangel had come to help him (Daniel 10:13 (NKJV)).

In the spiritual realm, God’s angels are battling against fallen angels. And the stakes are high. People’s souls rest in the balance. As Jesus warned us, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10 (NKJV)).

If you’re a believer in Jesus, you have been sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). You belong to God; your soul is secure. Still, the battle rages on around you.

Satan tries to keep you from drawing closer to God and from being effective at doing God’s work. He knows that God uses people to reach other people. So, he tries to render believers ineffective.

His tactics have been the same for generations. In the garden of Eden, Satan tempted Eve to sin by appealing to

• the lust of the flesh (she “saw that the tree was good for food”);
• the lust of the eyes (“it was pleasant to the eyes”); and
• the pride of life (it was “desirable to make one wise”) (Genesis 3:6 (NKJV)).

When Eve got her eyes off God and on herself, “she took of its fruit and ate” even though she knew she wasn’t supposed to eat it (Genesis 3:6 (NKJV)).

And Satan continues to use these three things to tempt us. He tries to get us to satisfy

• our flesh (It’s okay if I flirt a little; my husband never pays attention to me like he does.);
• our eyes (I know I can’t afford it but that outfit would look great on me.); and
• our pride (She deserved what I said to her. Doesn’t she know who she’s talking to?).

Out of these temptations arise distractions, irritations, addictions, and misplaced desire. And those things take our focus off God and places it on ourselves.

So, what do we do? We need to use the spiritual weapons God gave us to fight the war. As we see from our verse above, those weapons are “not carnal,” which means they are not of this world. Instead, they are “mighty in God.”

If we look in Ephesians 6, the apostle Paul tells us about the spiritual armor God gave us to use in this fight. He directs us to “put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm” (Ephesians 6:13 (NLT)).

Paul then tells us more about this armor. Let’s look at one piece – “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17 (NKJV)). Did you know that you can use the Bible to protect yourself? You can.

The Bible is a powerful weapon that you can always rely on. That weapon is “alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires” (Hebrews 4:12 (NLT)).

Jesus used the word of God to counteract Satan’s temptations. Each time Satan tempted Him with something, Jesus quoted from the Bible (Matthew 4:3-10). As He did, Jesus withstood every temptation that came His way.

That’s why it’s so important to memorize Bible verses. When you’re in the middle of a spiritual battle, God will assist you by bringing those verses to mind. You can then speak God’s word out loud to resist temptation.

When we use the spiritual weapons that are mighty in God, we are able to fight the battle. “By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life” (2 Peter 1:3 (NLT)). Let’s arm ourselves with the spiritual weapons God has provided so we can live a life pleasing to Him. When we keep ourselves pure, God will be able to do His work through us to reach the lost as we walk by faith with Him.

 

* Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash