The Enemy Is Out There

I taught a writing class to some homeschool high school students last year. One week, I had a particularly bad week. It seemed that everything that could go wrong did. When I got to my class I told my students, “If you think someone is out to get you, they are. We have an enemy, who wants to destroy us. You are not paranoid, someone IS out to get you.” One of my students didn’t like what I had to say. She sarcastically thanked me for my positive comments and for scaring her.

My student is not alone in that thinking. We don’t want to think about an enemy that is out to get us. We don’t want to think about Satan and his minions at all. That’s probably one of his best lies – that he doesn’t exist. Even to an extent, in the Christian’s mind. We want to look at the world with rose colored glasses, that don’t acknowledge an enemy. But when we do, things make so much more sense. We shouldn’t dwell on him, but certainly, we shouldn’t bury our heads in the sand as if he isn’t really a problem. He’s a huge problem in the Christian’s life. God warned His disciples about him.

John 10:30 “I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in me.”

Ephesians 2:2 “in which you formerly walked according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.”

God even warned us to prepare as if fighting in a battle.

Ephesians 6:12-17 “for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, after having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, AND HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

It is a biblical fact – we have an enemy who is out to get us. We are not paranoid. We don’t need to be hospitalized or be taking medication. If you are truly a believer, you inherited an enemy that wants to take you down. Be aware of this and fight the good fight.

Be aware, he doesn’t come dressed in red, with a pitchfork and devil’s tail. He doesn’t look like the devil. He comes as an angel of light. He masquerades as something else, to fool you, trip you up. He’s a counterfeit bill. Like a counterfeit bill, he looks so much like the real thing, you CAN get fooled.

You may or may not have heard the story of the FBI. In order to fight against counterfeit money, they spend hours and hours, studying the real thing. They don’t study fake bills, they only study the real bills. So when a counterfeit comes their way, they immediately know it’s phony.

We protect ourselves from the enemy by studying the real thing. We need to spend hours studying the Bible and praying. God is in the Bible. I know when I spend time in the word, I look up from the Bible, and look at the world around me, things are different. If I look at the world without Bible colored glasses, I start to panic. Things are really bad out there. But when I look at the world through the lens of the Bible, it changes my perspective. God promises peace, I feel peace. God says He loves us, I feel loved. God says He will protect us, I feel protected. God says He is good, I feel His goodness.

Be mindful, as a Christian, that you have an enemy. When those bad days come and everything seems to go wrong, you are probably dealing with a spiritual element to it all. Your enemy is doing what he does best, messing with you. Think about it, he’s had 6000 years to perfect his craft. But don’t lose heart. God warned us of this enemy, and He gives tools in His word to combat him. Stay in the Word. Stay in prayer. These will give you the proper tools for fighting your foe. Just don’t forget, the enemy is out there.