Battle Ready
By Kyle Blackwell
In order to resist the devil you must submit to God. In the same way that you cannot be in the light as long as you’re walking in darkness, you cannot be in God and also living in carnality. Now, does this mean that the devil will stop trying to torment you once you submit yourself to God? No! That is not how this works. The devil’s main focus here on earth is to steal, kill and destroy. This means that whatever he cannot steal, he will do whatever he can in order to destroy. The devil will try to destroy your marriage. The devil will try to destroy your career. But most importantly, he will try to destroy your testimony in Christ.
Paul was faced with some kind of battle, or as he puts it, a thorn in his side. Now, we do not know exactly what this battle was. Personally, I believe he was troubled by his past in how he used to persecute the same people he was later called to disciple. Whatever it was, it was very troubling to him. You see, satan was fearful of Paul and his ministry. He is the one who wrote a great majority of the New Testament and was a pioneer in spreading the Church to the world. Paul used to work for lucifer but he made a 180 the moment Jesus called him on the road to Damascus. You bet satan was out for revenge.
We also see how desperate satan is when we turn to Matthew Chapter 4. After Jesus received the Holy Spirit He fasted for forty days and forty nights. The Bible states that Jesus was tempted the entire time he was fasting. However, the most interesting part to me is the fact that the only recorded temptations occurred at the end of the forty days. Just think about this for a few moments. This tells me that the devil made his most crafty moves when Jesus was at his lowest, if there even is such a thing for the Almighty. He dug deep like the little dog he is. But what I truly love about this passage is that there are three records of these temptations, and in each temptation, Jesus went to the Book of Deuteronomy in order to refute the devil. Why Deuteronomy? It could be a coincidence. However, I believe it is because he was studying Deuteronomy at the time. Sometimes Holy Spirit will guide you to certain passages of the Bible and you do not realize that these passages will come up in a conversation later in the day. If you’re wondering, even Jesus studied the scriptures.
Jesus laid out a game plan for His followers. Paul elaborated on this game plan. He stated that we are to use scripture for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness for our spiritual walk in the Lord (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Did you catch that? That one word, rebuking. What do you rebuke? You rebuke the devil and his minions. There are many preachers out there who will tell you the devil is small. They are correct, but only to the Lord. A quick journey through the Old Testament will show you just how big the devil truly is. Go read about Job and how his entire life was taken away at the hands of the devil. Or how David, the man after God’s own Heart, was lured into sin. Or how about Daniel praying 21 days while his angel was in a fight with the prince of Persia. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing people that he does not exist.
Do not think for one minute that I am trying to glorify the devil here. What I am trying to do is make you realize that the only way to fight the devil is through the Word of God. Jesus always used scripture against the Pharisees as well. Take a ride through Ephesians chapter 6 and you will see that all of the Armor of God is connected to God’s Holy Word. Unfortunately, the Bible does not say much about the devil’s habits and the way he operates. However, it does tell us how to fight him, and that is through the Word of God. In Hebrews chapter 4 we read that the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Next, I will post an article on the Full Armor of God.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge -Hosea 4:6
