The Bible tells us that, "...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." (Eph. 6:12 NIV). I
think we can all relate to this. We all know what it feels like
to be beaten up by the devil. Trials and troubles abound, temptations
overwhelm us. We lose our tempers, say ugly things, have trouble
forgiving.... We also know that the devil prowls around like a roaring
lion, seeking to devour us ("Your enemy the devil prowls around
like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 1 peter 5:8 NIV).
Isn't there anything we can do to fight off the devil?
The good
news is, there is! Paul outlines a special covering that is available
for every believer (See
Eph. 6:10-18)! This special gift of God, God's own armament for us,
is ours for the taking, and these will be the focus of the upcoming
devotionals appearing on Mondays and Fridays. But is this special
helmet, this breastplate, this pair of shoes, this belt, this shield and
this sword really enough to combat the devil?
When our enemy is
spiritual in nature, it makes sense that we cannot combat them with
human weapons. Fortunately, "The weapons of our warfare are not human
weapons, but are made powerful by God for tearing down strongholds. We
tear down arguments."
Let's take a good look
at the first line of this verse:
Who is mightier? Us? The devil? or our
Heavenly Father?
Fortunately for us, the devil is already
defeated: "Since the children have flesh and
blood, he too shared in their humanity so that
by his death he might break the power of him who holds the
power of death--that is, the devil--and
free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of
death." (Heb. 2:14-15 NIV)
Since the devil is defeated by Jesus,
it makes sense that only God's weapons can conquer him.
Take for
example, illness. The human weapon is the medical field, yet we can look
for the best doctors in the world and not find healing. Only One
can heal all our diseases (See
Ps. 103:3)!
Recently I was diagnosed with Alzheimer's
disease. It wasn't fun. I was losing my mind, and all the doctors I met
made me understand that I was rapidly losing my cognition. I could not
fight Alzheimer's with human weapons. I decided to put my trust in Jesus
and in His weaponry. He came and visited me in person in my home, and He
promised to heal my Alzheimer's. Since that time, my cognition has been
steadily improving. I put my trust in Jesus, and He came through for me.
Who is the
mightiest?
The doctors?
They could not heal me.
No, I put my trust in Jesus, for "The weapons of our warfare are not
human weapons, but are made powerful by God for tearing down
strongholds. We tear down arguments."