Hey what’s going on everyone!! So this week, I will be taking a more serious, less glorious look at an aspect of our walk of faith. I really believe God wants us to be aware of the enemy that we have. This enemy wants the exact opposite of what God wants for us. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). This verse provides a clear picture of the goal of the enemy.
Our adversary’s objective is to steal our joy. To kill our desires and faith in Christ’s work in us. To destroy the wonderful opportunities that God has set up for us to live abundantly. Jesus tells us in that verse that He desires for us to have life, and life in full enjoyment of Him. We as believers, or really just anyone, need to take conscious steps so that the devil has no foothold to gain ground in our hearts and minds.
The tricky part, though, is that he (the enemy) uses things like God does to try to sway us. We can’t be fooled. That is why it’s so important for us to dig into our walk with the Lord, so that we can know what is genuine and what is fraud. One thing that the devil will use is short lived selfish pleasure. Jesus wants us to be selfless and to love, whereas the devil wants us to be selfish and self centered. Having a relationship with Jesus comes across as so glorious and amazing, and it absolutely is, but we also need to be made aware of the forces that are coming for our souls. The enemy desperate wants to thwart the power of God in our lives.
We are told that, “For 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). We don’t fight against people or other aspects of our life. It’s a spiritual root. This life is a fight. We are to fight the good fight of faith. That right there lets us know that this life isn’t a cakewalk. We have a goal which is spending eternity with a perfect God, and our enemy is present to strip that away from us.
We can’t let him do that. We as believers need to be the example of love and to show others that life with Jesus is so worth the sacrifice of temporary pleasures. I’m not writing this to scare anyone, but rather to encourage us all that we have victory over the devil, and we have the ability through Christ alone to overcome the evil plans that the enemy is trying to carry out. I challenge us all to really show the world the love of Christ, and to press in to the Lord for Him to show us how a life with him can be and is a life of victory and strength over the plans of our adversary. As always, if anyone needs prayer or wants to just talk, feel free to comment here, or DM me on Twitter or Instagram.
Much Love,
Ryan W.
