We are all in a spiritual battle. Too many Christians have given in and are taken captive by the enemy. This doesn’t have to be. But many believers aren’t living in victory because they are making common mistakes in their spiritual warfare. Here ae some of the most common mistakes:
IGNORING SPIRITUAL WARFARE. Many Christians, especially in the US and Europe, are ignorant of how Satan and his demons work. They relegate demonic activity to Bible times or Third World countries. Satan loves that for it allows him to operate undetected. If we don’t know who our enemy is how can we have victory over him? (1 Peter 5:8-9)
GIVING SATAN TOO MUCH CREDIT. Other Christians go to the opposite extreme and give Satan more attention and credit than he is due. They see a demon behind every bush and focus so much on spiritual warfare their relationship with Jesus suffers. Not everything in life is spiritual warfare. There are times of peace between attacks. God allows us to face the difficulties of life to give us opportunities to trust Him. We live in a fallen world and are not exempt from the hardships it brings. Our sin nature is very active and opposes God. Don’t give Satan credit for what comes from our sin nature or our fallen world. Focus on Jesus by prayer, Bible reading and worship. Satan loves attention, even negative attention – don’t give him more than his due (Philippians 4:8).
UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS. Victory comes slowly. Don’t expect immediate and total relief from life’s challenges and difficulties. Daniel spent weeks praying, unaware that a spiritual battle in the heavens was taking place between angels and demons (Daniel 10:12-13). Too often we expect God to immediately answer our prayers and make everything perfect. When it doesn’t happen, we become disappointed in God or change churches. Remember, God is more interested in using the trials and tribulations of life to make us more like Jesus than He is in giving us heaven on earth right now. That will come later, now is when we stretch and grow. That only comes through opposition. Physical muscles only grow when stretched to their limit. The same is true of our spiritual muscles as well.
ASSUMING THE WORST. It’s easy to become afraid of Satan and let our imagination run wild. Satan loves it when we do that. But his evil influence is usually very subtle. Demons try to remain undetected. In other parts of the world, they love to manifest, using their power to inflict fear in people. That is not as common in the US. Demons thrive on fear, having us think of all the evil things that can happen. Their power is limited, as we see with Satan needing God’s permission to attack Job. God is greater (1 John 4:4; Acts 16:16-18). If they could do all the evil things we may fear and imagine, they would have done them already! They would kill us if they could, but obviously they can’t for we are still alive.
FORGETTING THE BATTLE IS ALREADY WON. Battles can last for years, even decades. Spiritual strongholds can take a long time to bring down. But it will happen. Jesus has already defeated sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:57). Satan is a defeated foe (1 John 4:4). Victory is assured (Revelation 12:7-11; 20:7-15). God is in control and uses everything for our growth and His glory (Romans 8:28; Genesis 50:20).
Through the power of Jesus Christ, believers are assured, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Even though spiritual warfare is often hidden behind a veil, it is ever-present, but it is not something Christians need to be focused on all day every day. When trying to understand it, we should pray and go to the Bible for wisdom and guidance, taking heart in the ultimate victory of Jesus Christ.
“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” – C.S. Lewis (October 28, 2024 Doylestown, PA)
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:8-9).
Which of these errors are you most prone to believe? What have you learned that can be applied to your life today?
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
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