October 21, 2009

• Wrestling With the Enemy...

  In perhaps one of the most clear passages about spiritual warfare (the armor of God), Paul describes our warfare as "wrestling:"

  Ephesians 6:12 (ESV) - For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

  Wrestling is not a sport that is done at a distance.  It is close, personal, and requires both strength and technique.  In order to win, the opponent must be pinned or put into submission.  Force and perseverance are required, so wrestling is not for the weak-willed or the faint hearted.  It requires practice and discipline.  Wrestling also uses pressure tactics.  A wrestler will typically go after certain areas that will put the opponent at a disadvantage and make them lose balance. 

  All of these are true of spiritual warfare.  When we fight with Satan, it is something close, personal, and requires both strength and technique.  The loser will be pinned into submission.  Our battle simply isn't in the physical, its in the spiritual.  Satan knows our weaknesses and will often target them, over and over, hoping we will lose balance and fall.  But Satan also has his own weaknesses.  He can't stand against the truth and the authority of God.  He can only endure so much of it before he has to flee.  Its as we stand in our identity in God, claiming His promises, and refuting Satan's tactics, we are able to stand against him and eventually pin him or force him to run.

  James 4:7 (ESV) - Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

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