Why Restore? Strength In Spiritual Warfare
Does your life feel like a battlefield? Maybe it feels like everything is warring against you. Your struggles surround you, the booms of past failures and hurts still rattling in your ears. Every time you think you’ve weeded out a sin, it pops back up again. It feels like a struggle just to survive.
In the midst of this chaos, we can easily choose to go numb, or to be angry at God. After all, if he loves us, and is in control, then why is life so hard? But we forget we have an enemy--several in fact.
With the Fall, the first man and woman brought sin into the human story. We feel the after-affects of that choice--hurts that happen to us through no fault of our own. But there are also fresh attacks daily.
The Forces Against You
The flesh, the world, and the devil act as an evil trinity, and their sights are set against God and his people. Even as Christians, our sinful flesh still battles against God’s spirit, prompting us to love ourselves more than loving God and others. The world, a culture that lives as if there is no God, feeds our insatiable desire to be the center of the universe. Our Enemy the devil knows humanity’s sinful condition, and how susceptible we are to temptation. Nothing brings the devil greater joy than causing doubt and confusion in God’s people.
Though we may not be able to physically see our enemies, the battle still rages on around us. Satan works to deceive, distract, discourage, and divide us. He deceives us with lies, tricking us into believing that God doesn’t care about us, or that God’s promises don’t apply to us. The Enemy distracts us with worldly comfort and worry, tricking us into thinking more about our circumstances than about the God who dwells within us or the spiritual warfare that surrounds us. Satan discourages us, leading us to believe that nothing will change or that the bad outweighs the good in life. Often this deception, distraction and discouragement results in division between us and God, or between us and one another.
These feel like overwhelming odds. With such enemies and schemes against us, what hope do you have on your own?
But you’re not alone.
The powers against us look huge only when we forget the power of God that is in us and with us.
“The powers against us look huge only when we forget the power of God that is in us and with us.”
God’s Power With You
In 2 Kings 6, Elisha was facing enemy forces--the whole army of Syria. His servant was understandably afraid, knowing that all those soldiers were there to capture them. But Elisha assured the young man that “those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” He prayed for the Lord to open his servant’s eyes, and he suddenly saw that odds were switched. The hills were filled with the angels and chariots of the Lord (just one of which could have taken out an entire army). In reality, it was the armies of Syria that were outnumbered.
Our enemies are bigger than us. We can never fight sin or Satan on our own. But God is with us--and He is infinitely bigger than any of our enemies. Imagine facing your childhood bully, with your Navy Seal uncle standing cross-armed right behind you. That’s the tiniest glimpse of the fear our enemies feel at the power of God.
Jesus has assured us that “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world”(1 John 4:4). God is with us, and he is our help. God is love, and love won’t leave his children alone.
God is with us, and gives us the strength to resist and flee from temptation. He provides the strength to fight against sin, and the grace for us to stand up again after we fall.
We don’t have to be afraid of the devil or sin. Our mighty King Jesus already came striding in, cutting through the ties that bound us to them. Jesus has already won the ultimate victory for us against Satan and death through the cross. By his spirit, we can walk in the reality of that victory every day.
We won’t be perfect. But we can be confident that his love will not leave us, and that he will sanctify us. “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)
We are not made to live in fear of our enemies. God wants us to rest in his love, and feel the power of his presence.
As we look at God for our hope and help, dwelling in his presence, we will be able to rejoice with the Psalmist:
“We wait in hope for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
For we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
Even as we put our hope in you.” (Psalm 33:20-22)
Want to grow confident in God’s love and presence? Order your copy of Restore: Changing How We Live and Love. This thirteen-week study guides participants through creating their own storyboards that will connect them to God’s overarching story and help them to rethink, reframe, and move forward. As participants discuss, do response activities, and learn to meditate on God’s Word, they will reconnect with God and reignite their love for him and others. Get your copy today!