This Raging Battle

Our enemy surrounds us on all sides. He is treacherous and viscous. This battle is not a physical one, it is spiritual. The whole issue is who is going to get the glory in the universe.

Satan told God, "You cannot have all the glory in creation, I want some for myself". God response was, "My glory I will not give to another" Isaiah 48:11.

The battle for the throne of creation continues, yet the outcome cannot be disputed. Day in and day out, the battle rages in our personal affairs, out family, our church, our finances and communities.

Paul said, "Whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God" 1 Corinthians 10:31. In relation to the battle that we are in, we must fight to win the glory. We have to always be aware of Satan’s strategy. The bible makes it clear that he has a plan. Ephesians 6:11 tells us to put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. The word "wiles" describes a well thought out clever strategy. We cannot afford to be ignorant of his devices see 2 Corinthians 2:11.

On one occasion, while speaking to a carnal church, the Apostle Paul wrote, "I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ". (See 2 Corinthians 11"3) Satan is out to deceive us, to trick us into buying into his lies and temptations. He does not want us to be devoted to Christ. He wants us to doubt the Word and stumble in our trust. That way, he can reduce us to the extent that we have no significance in the kingdom of God.

Satan has been doing his work for a long time. He is comfortable at it. He can speak false and deceptive doctrine, and make it sound true and exciting. He will have us believing we have heard from heaven when all we’ve heard is a pack of lies. He wants us to believe that he is right, but that’s not possible. The devil cannot speak the truth, he is a liar. He is good at what he does. He will deceive us and make us have a good time. But we cannot afford to be deceived, even if it’s "good time deception".

Satan is not afraid of us, but he cannot stand against God for a second. Paul told us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. It is vital that we have everything we need to fight a good fight. Lack of victory in spiritual battle reflects a lack of understanding of our divine resources. We have everything we need to win every victory. We all have problems in this life, but it is our inability to move beyond the problems that causes us to lose out. We must be able to move on past the failures, the disappointments and setbacks. We cannot allow any of those things to keep us in spiritual defeat. We must let nothing separate us from the love of God.

Victory is found in our dependence upon God. Satan wants to keep us from depending on God. He wants us to depend on him and them. But we have to depend on God because He has the power to establish us. Let’s decide today that we will trust what the Word says. As we lean on God, we will consistently experience victory in our lives.