Scriptures-Ephesians 6:12, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, 1 Peter 5:8-9

I have three Questions I’d like to go over with you all:

• Why do we have spiritual warfare?

• When did spiritual warfare start?

• How do we fight spiritual warfare?

To Answer Question 1) Why do we have spiritual warfare? We can look at Ezekiel 28:12-17. 

     It talks about the most beautiful angel God created.  Verses 12 through the first part of 15 says this angel was a cherub, also known as an anointed guardian.  This angel held such a high honor and wore clothing made of “every precious stone”.  It also says this angel was “full of wisdom and perfect in beauty”.  Even stating that this perfect angel was placed “on the holy mountain of God”.  Can you imagine how beautiful it must have been to have seen this angel?  Maybe God and the other heavenly being were complimenting this perfect angel? 

     Then, there’s a twist in verse 15, “You were blameless in your ways from the day that you were created until iniquity was found in you.” God made His angels to have free will, just as He did with us.  This perfect angel had grown conceited, and verse 17 says, “Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.” Now, it sounds, to me, like maybe these compliments may have gotten into the head of this angel and no longer was glory being given to God. 

     Isaiah 14:13 and 14 says that God knows what is in the hearts and minds of every living creature.  He lets us know that His special angel was thinking, saying, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God…¹⁴ I will ascend to the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” This cherub is the devil, satan, the evil one, the deceiver, there are many names. God’s anointed guardian thought he could be God’s equal, probably even thinking he could do God’s job.  Obviously, this upset God because no one is equal to God in any way.  God created him to be a special angel, not a God, and he went against what God designed him to be.

Now let that sink in a moment before we go on to answering Question 2) When did spiritual warfare start?

     In Genesis 3, the serpent, (which is the devil, right?) gets into Eve’s head, deceiving her into eating the forbidden fruit.  So, the first human sin follows the first ever sin, that we know of, according to the Bible.  From there it is just a trickle-down effect, to the first murder and just continues to spread. Imagine for a moment that you turned on your water spigot, the water flows out in one stream, right?  But, if you connect a hose splitter to it, now the spigot has more than one way to flow.  For those who aren’t familiar, garden hose splitters have a shut off valve for each connector, allowing you to turn on and off the supply of water to each opening without turning off the main supply coming from the spigot. Then from there, you can connect hoses and more splitters.  And from those splitters, more hoses and splitters can be connected… (I think you get the idea.)

     The devil wants to turn as many of us as he can away from God, so we worship him, and the way he does it, is by trickery.  And by no means is he bad at what he does.  He is called “the father of lies” because that’s what comes out of him, and he makes them sound so good, that they sound like truth.  He tricks us by complicating everything, even taking what is good and twisting it into something evil. He wants everyone to be unhappy, the more unhappy, the better.  This is the ultimate, “misery loves company”.  He is the direct source of sinful nature.  Always remember, if it isn’t good, it isn’t of God. 

     Spiritual warfare is the ultimate war between good and evil, or simply put, between God and the devil.  It’s not just about choosing sides. Minute battles are going on all the time, within the war. There’s a well-known children’s song, you may have heard of it, “Oh, be careful little eyes what you see”.  It is very powerful, and yet has simple instructions for fighting those little battles.  It says be careful little ears what you hear; be careful little tongue what you say; be careful little hands what you do; and be careful little feet where you go.

     Every step you take, every move you make, every word that comes out of your mouth, and every thought that enters your mind, are battles. We may not win every battle, and it’s just not reasonable to think that we would. However, we can fight them to the best of our ability. The first step in winning these smaller battles is to identify whether it’s of God or the devil-it’s not complicated. Our human minds have been rewired to overcomplicate everything because of the devil and his schemes.  We can’t always tell if we are doing what God wants us to do, or what the devil wants us to do.  That’s why we need to be so careful, all the time… Every moment.

Now to Answer Question 3) How do we fight spiritual warfare?

     Scripture, prayer, and constantly staying in communication with God.  The more you do, the easier these battles are to win.  You can shut the valve off from the devil and his deception, by reciting scripture, such as Psalms 23, John 3:16, the scriptures Ginger read to us (Ephesians 6:12, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, 1 Peter 5:8-9,) and so many more. Even if you can’t recite scripture, you can ask God for wisdom, and guidance, or you can tell the devil to stop and get out of your head, and he will.  The devil is persistent and will not stop trying to keep that valve of sin running.

     Worry, fear, and frustration are all tools the devil likes to use against us.  I’m not saying we should not be concerned about the things that worry, frustrate, or we are fearful of.  What I am saying, is we need to change the way we respond to those things. Instead of worrying about how the bills are going to get paid, give thanks for those bills-the phone, heat, water, whatever it may be.  Instead of being filled with fear over an illness, give thanks for the ever-advancing technology to cure.  Instead of getting frustrated over long lines at the store, give thanks for allowing you to practice patience. 

     Giving thanks to God allows us to adopt a more positive mindset and helps to keep the devil at bay.  The more we allow those worries, fears, and frustrations to bother us, the more we open that water valve and allow the devil to do more work within us. We must be very careful of these little battles.  The way we respond to these smaller battles will dictate whether we are putting on a hose splitter to other people with an open valve to the evil one or showing God’s grace and love.

     There’s a song that speaks to my heart, as it helps make things so much easier to know God’s got this…in any situation.  The song is called, “Fight My Battles” by Michael W. Smith – “This is how I fight my battles… it may look like I’m surrounded, but I’m surrounded by you.”

     I’ll leave you with this thought… negativity and positivity are both contagious… think about it, which one are you going to spread?