Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 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. – Ephesians 6:10-12
What is it that you struggle against? Is it your job? Is it your family, or maybe a neighbor? Is it with yourself? From conversations I’ve had with friends and what they are concerned with, I would say that most of what we struggle with in this life is either in our mind or with the people around us. You’re scared that your boss might fire you, or angry at that coworker who continues to harass you. Maybe your family is abusive, or the neighbor is just plain irritating. Perhaps just keeping us with the daily chores of a family is dragging you down. Maybe you have a health issue. Or maybe it’s addiction or sin issue you can’t get over. We tend to make the physical things of the world our struggles, rather than the spiritual forces of wickedness. Tell me, when was that last time you struggled against a spiritual foe instead of a neighbor with a complaint against you? The root of many of the issues we have can often be spiritual; but, that’s not our focus. We struggle with what we set our focus upon.
Worse yet, I’ve noticed that not only do many of us seem to struggle only with the physical world itself, but we seem to be losing. That’s not how we treat it, but that’s the realization that I’ve come to through what God was showing me. The most obvious area I am thinking of are the habitual sins we live in. These are the sins that we know are wrong; that we struggle against with all our might, but then we hit a hard day and we fall to temptation yet again. This kind of sin is most obvious with addictions. This is the life story of an alcoholic; however, those addictions can be from many other things: drugs, lust, greed, or anger. Perhaps it is the father or mother that yells at their child, then tells themselves they’ll never do it again. It could be gossip, slander, tempers, or even simply our language. I know I’ve lived through this. I’ve heard so many stories of others who have these certain sins that they are working on and just can’t seem to conquer. We use the words of Paul in Romans 7 “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want” as if this were a reason for our failures. We admit our weakness as if this is a badge of honor, as if admitting our struggles make us a better person.
But this isn’t what I’ve come to realize. First let’s look at another reference to the armor of God.
Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. – Romans 13:11-14
It’s time for us to wake up. We seem to forget that our life here is not a game, it’s not a leisurely walk through the park; we’re in the middle of a battle. Why do you think the armor of God is talked about in the Bible? Or what of all the other references of being soldiers, or of the fight we are in. When the devil turned from God, this world became a battleground. As much as we want to look past it, there is a spiritual battle all around us, and we need to join in the fight, not just struggle to survive.
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. – Romans 8:37
Does this sound like us, that in all these things we “overwhelmingly conquer”? This is what God showed me. These areas of sin in my life that I want to fix and don’t, it’s because really, I’m not serious enough to overcome. God has given us the grace to conquer sin in our lives. So why don’t we? Often we roll over so quickly to sin and that’s why we struggle so much. Rather than standing for what we believe and fighting as if this is the fight of our lives that will define us, we treat it as some small struggle, like it’s a scrimmage game where the score will soon be forgotten. If we fail, it’s ok, it’s not really important.
We need to lay aside the deeds of darkness and the provisions we make for our flesh and put on Jesus. Put on your armor. Stand your ground and fight for what God has provided for you. Make your life count for something. God has chosen us and equipped us. Let’s stand up for Him and not just give in to anything that puts a little physical pressure. Our fight is against the spiritual forces of darkness, and through God we can conquer.
