There is a Battle

There is a battle raging around us, whether you see it or not. Spiritual warfare is as real as physical warfare happening around us. The way you perceive spiritual warfare is predicated on the personal language you have with God. There are as many ways to communicate with God as there are people. We have a bit of a framework of how God has communicated with people in the past through the Bible, but that is not an exhaustive list. We see God speaking through dreams to many prophets, through the still small voice with Elijah (1 Kings 19:11-13), and in the new testament through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. As there are many way to perceive spiritual warfare, do not discount how God is communicating to you, because God will talk to you in a way that makes sense FOR YOU.

Spiritual warfare is important, but it is not meant to weigh you down. Ephesians 6:12 instructs us that our battle is not with human beings but with the spiritual forces of darkness. As important as Ephesians 6:12 is, we have to understand that verse out of 6:10 where Paul says, "Be supernaturally infused with strength through your life-union with the Lord Jesus. Stand VICTORIOUS with the force of His explosive power flowing in and through us (TPT)."

Any spiritual warfare you come across should be addressed from a position of sonship. You are not an orphan. You are claimed. If you try to combat any spiritual warfare outside of being a son or daughter, you will lose, and not because you are not completely qualified for that battle but because you do not know who you are. There is a narrative in the Bible that speaks to exactly this when the sons of Sceva tried to cast out demons using the authority of the name of Jesus. The demon said, "I know about Jesus, and I recognize Paul, but who are you?" The sons of Sceva did not know who they were and could not respond. You are a son and a daughter. All of the authority that Jesus walked in while he was on the Earth was given to you on the resurrection day. You are not an orphan, so you do not have to act like one.
 
The second part of verse ten speaks to a victorious mindset going into spiritual warfare. You are not fighting a losing battle. The war is won; we know the ending. At the end of time, Jesus still reigns victorious and satan goes to the pits of hell where he belongs. Hear me say this as loud as possible, Satan cannot win the war, but he will try to win you. Satan cannot get back to God, so he will try to take as many of God's children with him in the process. You have an enemy that seeks for you to live outside of relationship with God, but you are more powerful than Satan could ever hope to be. He knows exactly the buttons to push to get you away from God, but you have the Holy Spirit. There is no spirit in the spiritual realm that is greater than the Holy Spirit. Stand victorious in the place God has called you to be in, because he has set you up to win. All you have to do is call on the name of Jesus, and any demon standing against you has to flee. Jesus has won the war, so you can win the battle.

Spiritual warfare does not have to be heavy. Those that are called to intercede and stand in the gap for others or even nations should actually be the most joyful people in the room. We are not fighting for victory, we are fighting from victory. When spiritual warfare is happening around you, pray for the opposite thing to come in its place. If you feel anxiety in a room, call out the peace. If you feel depression, call out the joy. If you feel apathy, call out the passion. In the midst of the darkest room, you can always call out the light. God allows you the be aware of spiritual warfare, so you can partner with his heart for the people around you.

We move in response to the relationship we have with Jesus. You are an ambassador of Christ to this world, but first and foremost, you are a child of God. God cares infinitely more about having a personal relationship with you than God cares about anything you could ever do for his kingdom. God does not need you to expand his kingdom, but he is kind enough to let you help.

Author | Cristina Rosiles