Spiritual Warfare
By Shauna Leis
“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.”
Ephesians 6:12-13
Dear One, if you have ever doubted that you are up against spiritual forces, both good and evil, and that they are beyond your wildest imaginations, I pray that you will read these verses above and pray over them fervently! There are battles going on in the heavenly realms every day between God’s army and the evil minions of Satan. Many times we humans are caught right in the middle of the battle.
There are a couple of spiritual encounters from the Bible that I want you to pay special attention to as you go through this journey called life. Joshua was Israel’s leader at the time and was preparing to attack the mighty fortress of Jericho and take it for the Lord. However, on the way to the battle, Joshua encountered a being that I am certain made his eyes bulge and his mouth drop. Read with me Joshua 5:13-15: “Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, ‘Are you for us or for our enemies?’ ‘Neither,’ he replied, ‘but as the commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.’ Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, ‘What message does my Lord have for his servant?’ The commander of the Lord’s army replied, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.’”
Wow! Joshua knew he was on his way to fight a very earthly battle with people he could see and feel. Imagine his surprise as, along the way, he ran into the Commander of the Lord’s Army. I am fairly certain that if I were in Joshua’s shoes, instead of just falling down on my face, I would have fallen down at a dead faint. Apparently this battle over Jericho was not inconsequential to our Heavenly Father since He had sent the Commander of His army to lead the charge against the forces of evil that must have also been at work in Jericho. Does that not give you some confidence and comfort to know that when you are going through something that you know is a “battle” here on earth (physical, spiritual, or emotional - especially one that involves the advancement of God’s Kingdom), that there is also likely a spiritual battle going on where we cannot see it?
Another example involves Daniel that I would like to share with you. Daniel was a Jew being held captive in Babylon, but he never lost his faith or stopped praying to God Almighty, even while in the control of the pagan country. In Chapter 10, Daniel was standing on the bank of a great river and suddenly found himself in the presence of one “like a man” who came to give Daniel a great message – his prayers to God had been heard, and this being was here to explain to Daniel the answer to Daniel’s requests. Verses 12-13 indicate “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.’” Most scholars believe that this reference to “princes” was indicative of the fact that these spiritual beings were assigned to different areas to protect and defend against evil forces that Satan also assigned to the same areas. So, this “prince” of God was fighting against the “prince” of Satan over Persia!
Now, there may be times that the battles both here on earth and in the spiritual realms are so fierce that we have scars at the end. In his fictional book called Abiding Darkness, John Aubrey Anderson uses a man named Mose to describe it perfectly while talking with his son Junior. Mose says, “The great battle between good an’ evil’s gonna be goin’ on ‘til Jesus comes back to rule His kingdom, an’ God says me an’ you an’ the other Christians gets to fight on His side.” The old man pulled himself forward slightly to add emphasis to his next words. “So what me an’ you needs to do is make sure that when we gets to heaven, we wearin’ scars we got from fightin’ the good fight. You understandin’ me?” And is that not the truth! When I get to heaven, I want some scars to prove that I have been in the battle and not just sitting on the sidelines. My precious friend, please know that when you are going through difficulties in your life, spiritual battles are raging above, as God will never leave you nor forsake you.
Pray with me: Dear Lord Jesus, we humbly come before You knowing that You are in charge of everything. We know that there are spiritual forces at work all around us – both good and evil. Jesus, be with us each and every second along the way so that we will have a heightened sensitivity to the spiritual realms and what is happening so that we can be prepared in all circumstances. Lord, teach us that even though we cannot see it or understand it at times, that does not keep it from being real. We want to be so in-tune with You that there is no room for anything else. All of this we pray in the precious name of Your son Jesus Christ!