Stand Your Ground

Wow.  It still amazes me how much power Satan thinks he has.
As children of God we are no longer slaves to sin or Satan.  The creator of the universe has bought us with the price of his son!  So we can't just lay around all day letting Satan drag us away from our divine calling.  He wants us to mess up.  He's trying to trap us.  All day everyday is a battle against the prince of darkness.  It's a struggle, a fight, a war.  

Galatians 6:12-13 says,

 "For our struggle is not against the 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."

Do you see what this is saying Christian!?  That fight you had with your best friend was not about who should wear what.  The fight between the music minister and the pastor is not purely about Sunday school lessons, and the fight you had with your wife isn't because you don't love each other.

It's spiritual warfare.  It's forces going against us in the spiritual realm.  Sometimes these forces are even used against ourselves like Paul talks about in Romans 7.  "I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."  The battle isn't to be fought horizontally, but vertically. 

What's your relationship with God been like lately?  How have your personal daily quiet times with him been going?  Do you seek his will in every decision you make?  Are you applying the Word to your life?

Perhaps your friendships and relationships are struggling because you haven't fully grasped what God means when he says, "Love others as you love yourself."  Sure you know from memory and you've heard it your whole life, but do you truly understand what that looks like?  Have you seen that in your own service towards others?  Get in the Word and you'll find out.  Pray! Ask God to show you obviously what loving others looks like.

Struggling with personal desires and temptations?  Not sure how to stop doing what you don't need to be doing?  Look to God and the Bible and you'll see that you're not alone, you're not fighting yourself, and that God is with you and he wants to help you if you will ask.

Pray about it.  Get in the Word.  Seek God's face.