We Don’t Wrestle Against Flesh and Blood

 

There’s no question that this earthly experience can take a toll on us mentally and emotionally. Dealing with individuals that have no interest in getting to know the Lord Jesus Christ is a practice that most of us are still learning to master. A good friend of mine recently became saved, and he’s getting his first taste of this. He’s seeing very clearly and quickly how the enemy comes against God’s people and how he weaponizes people to do this. My friend told me that one of his closest friends has now become his enemy. This person has actually been speaking terribly about him behind his back, and apparently, it’s been happening a very long time. My friend doesn’t understand why, after all these years of friendship, he would do such a thing. There’s no question that as children of God we’re going to be attacked by the devil through others, but when it’s a friend you thought had your back, it’s one of the most hurtful ordeals a person can experience.

When someone goes after you, and tells lies about you, typically our instinct is to want to retaliate against the person. Nine times out of ten, we’re not thinking about the tricks and plots of the devil or the weapons of spiritual warfare. We’re seeing the person as the enemy and we’re angry at them for what they’ve done. It’s a huge mistake to act out on this. The Father tells us in Ephesians 6:12(NLT), “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Born again believers have an enemy and this enemy is God’s archenemy, satan. We do ourselves a disservice to neglect the reality that the problem is never a flesh and blood individual but the spirit of darkness that works within them.

People that do not know the Lord or want to get to know him better are blind to how they can be used by satan. 2Corinthians 4:4(NLT) states, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” Those of us that are in the light because we have received the light of Christ should not refuse to see things as they are. The battle isn’t with a person, it is the spirit of darkness working in them, and we should not attempt to battle a spiritual enemy with weapons that are not spiritual. This is never a successful strategy.

God tells us in Ephesians 6:10-11(NLT), “10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.” Jesus Christ has won the victory against satan already. Our responsibility is to stand in what Christ has accomplished. To stand is to put on the Word of God in our hearts and minds and continue to renew our minds to God’s Word. This means that we must study it and speak it forward repeatedly until we learn to speak what God says and think what God thinks. This is what it means to stand strong in the Lord. It’s to have unwavering faith in Him and to know that He will make our enemies our footstools. We must have confidence in this.

Remember, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, dealt with people that were worse than we could ever imagine. He was criticized, talked about, called names, and had his power and authority constantly questioned by the Pharisees, Sadducees, and others. During his crucifixion, when he hung on the cross in agony, Luke 23:34(NLT) tells us he said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.” Even when he was being crucified, and while those that put him there gambled for his clothes, he cried out to the Father and asked Him to forgive his enemies for their sins.

This is the heart of Christ, and while it may be hard for us to fathom, we are expected by our Heavenly Father to learn to have this same heart. We must understand that our enemies are being controlled by demonic influence. The reason why the oppression gets under our skin so easily is because the enemy knows what triggers us. He studies us so he can know exactly how to attack, and his goal is to get us to react in such a way that we harm ourselves and harm our relationship with God. That’s the whole mission of the devil, to put a wedge between us and our Father. We can’t let this happen.

1Peter 5:8-9(NLT) warns, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.” God’s Will is for us to stay alert! We must recognize that as we journey forward and upward in Christ, everyone we know will not journey with us. Many of them will not understand our walk with God, and that’s okay. We can pray for them, but we cannot permit anything that they do to hold us back. Our responsibility is to stay close to God, to armor up with His spiritual weaponry by staying in His Word. He will heal our hearts, and He will fight all our battles when we are committed to remain in the Lord Jesus Christ through our faith.■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“We Don’t Wrestle Against Flesh and Blood”,  written for Christian Encouragement and Inspiration© 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.