By Stefanie McGowan
How does the knowledge of the I AM change the way we combat darkness?
What do you do when the enemy surrounds you?
When he prowls like a lion, seeking to kill, steal, and destroy…
Do you cower or stand rooted in faith?
Do you freak out? Do you stop and pray?
I’m asking, because it’s important.
It’s easy to believe the lies of the enemy, when we forget that God is bigger.
Our trials get magnified when God’s Sovereignty is made small.
But we know that there’s so much more at stake than is seen.
A war waged for our souls. A spiritual battle that’s at work in and around us, to fight the enemy, and share Jesus.
To fight our flesh, and deny the world.
To follow Jesus.
It’s a battle that was won on Calvary…
yet one we’re called to keep fighting until the end, when Jesus comes to complete the work of perfecting our faith.
You and I have already been fully equipped for the fight until Christ’s return.
But we also need reminded that the devil is a liar.
That as he prowls, he is neither the Lion, nor the Lamb that was slain;
he is a counterfeit, an imitator of the Truth.
Because of Jesus, there is no power over you more powerful than the Creator of the Universe calling you His own.
The darkness cannot rob what the Light has overcome.
Jesus sets us free!
We need the Gospel everyday.
We need the Good News in the face of opposition, to remind us to whom we belong.
To help us recognize that this life is temporary, it takes the perspective of the King of kings in us,
because the author of confusion, goes for our minds…
If he can make us second guess God’s grace… if we question the goodness of the Father,
then maybe He can keep us from trusting the One who is trustworthy.
But the Word promises that when we acknowledge the Lord, he will make our path straight. (Proverbs 3:6)
That if we resist the enemy, he has to flee in Jesus’ name.
Though we are under attack, we are free in Christ!
So what do we do when opposition comes?
We have armor. Friend, are you using it?
We have the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. (Ephesians 6:17)
Are you fighting as you lean on your own understanding or His? (Proverbs 3:5)
Are you spending time pouring the Word into your heart, to know the Truth, and spot the lies when they come?
Is your head trained to recognize the counterfeit truths that tickle our ears, but are myths in the end? (2 Timothy 4:4)
What if we begged the Lord to help us see things like He sees things?
Elisha did this for his young servant, begging the Lord to show him that there was a war, waged on His behalf… and there were more on their side, than the enemies.
“When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere.
“Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha.
“Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him.
“For there are more on our side than on theirs!”
Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!”
The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up,
he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.” (2 Kings 6:15-17)
What if we sought the Lord with our whole hearts and called out for His help instead of believing that the enemy is bigger?
The Lord longs for us to talk with Him, to pray without ceasing, to rejoice always, knowing He is in control, and give thanks in all things. Because He cares about the big and the little things in our lives. He is in control of them all, working them together for our good. Just before this story, in 2 Kings 6, Elisha demonstrated this by caring for something that could seem so insignificant, but not to the Lord. Elisha stops and helps rescue someone’s borrowed axehead, fishing it out from the bottom of the Jordan River. Now why would the Lord take the time to pen the fact that someone so significant in prophesying in the Bible, is also dealing with the minutiae of everyday life…
Because its shows that our God cares about the details of our lives.
He cares that we know how to fight against the enemy and fix our eyes on Him.
He cares that we talk with Him about the little and the big things.
He cares about the details as you wrestle through your day,
pressing into Jesus to give you eyes to see things like He sees things.
He gives us perspective, perseverance, and the fruit of His Spirit, as we abide in Christ.
This is kingdom work.
It takes courage and sacrifice.
It takes pressing into Jesus every moment of everyday.
Because there is more at stake than is seen.
But there are more on our side, than on the enemies.
Hallelujah! Thank you, Lord.
Keep pressing in, my friend. Knowing that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, is the same power that lives in us who believe.
Our God is in control, and we belong to a good, good Father.
One who calls us His own, and calls us to abide in Him as we journey along different paths, with different gifts— all by His grace alone.
Oh Lord, open our eyes, that we might see and believe.
Grace Enough 