For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms—Ephesians 6:12
When I was little and fearful of things that went bump in the night, my mom told me I had a guardian angel who kept a watch over me. It gave me comfort to believe it, but even then, I had my doubts—until one day I was riding my bicycle and my front tire hit a rock. I went sailing through the air and walked away without a scratch when I should have been broken and bruised.
And just like that, I became a believer.
It wasn’t until I was much older that I learned there is a power other than God who roams the world—a spiritual battle raging in the earthly realm. There are some Christians who don’t believe Satan is real, however, that doesn’t change the truth. We are all affected by this spiritual darkness whether we buy into it or not. More so for those who disregard the enemy. It gives him a firmer foothold in their lives.
Maybe a little history to set the stage is necessary.
What is called the Angelic Conflict started when Lucifer (Satan) rebelled against God. He and his followers were cast out of heaven. If you don’t believe me, read the first chapter of Job. Satan opposed God, and he now seeks to steal, kill, and destroy us, his victims.
It sounds like a plot from a J.R.R. Tolkien book, doesn’t it?
Mark Twain said, “Truth is stranger than fiction,” and he was right.
But how does that affect us as believers in Jesus Christ? According to Ephesians 1:13, And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit…”
This scripture assures us a promise of salvation, not a promise of ease and comfort in this life. There is still a spiritual battle raging over us, and although Satan cannot take us down, he can certainly make us ineffective in our calling—to be a witness to the love and grace of Jesus Christ so others will come to know Him for themselves.
One of the hardest questions for me to answer is why a good God allows bad things to happen to His children. Recently, I was discussing this very issue with a friend. She told me a person can’t walk through Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital and see all those sweet kids with cancer and not have their faith shaken up a bit.
Imagine being the parent of one of those precious souls.
I’ve been reading the newest novel by my good friend Blossom Turner titled Mara: The Unseen Battle. I don’t want to give too much away, because I’ll be sharing more about it, along with my review, in next week’s blog post.
The theme of this book is based on what I’m discussing today. The spiritual battle we are all subject to—angels and demons, both tasked with winning each of us to their side.
We already know Satan is going to lose this battle—we’ve read the end of the story—but he’s going to take down as many souls with him as he can.
The question we must ask is on which side of that battle we stand. It’s easy to say we’re with God. It’s not quite so easy to back it up with faith when we hit hard times—and we will. The pain and/or death of a loved one, a difficult diagnosis, a job loss. None of us get through this life unscathed.
Blossom’s book is based on biblical truth, although she’s taken some creative license. But it helped me understand on some level why God allows bad things to happen to His children.
The Lord’s primary goal is to grow our character to reflect that of Jesus Christ and to share His love with those who don’t know Him. I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: We don’t grow in comfort and ease. Part of being a believer is suffering to some extent as Jesus suffered—carrying our cross and laying it down at His feet.
In Blossom’s book, she depicts the battle that rages between Mara’s guardian angel and the demon assigned to bring her down. Once Mara accepts Christ as her Savior (sorry, spoiler alert), then the demon’s objective shifts. He cannot take her away from Jesus, but if he pushes her to bitterness and anger over her situation, he can make her of no use to Him.
I don’t want to veer into a political debate, but understanding how Satan works does explain why some people react with such anger and violence, defending policies that make no common sense to 80% of the population. They don’t need our disgust; they need our prayers because they are at the mercy of Satan.
When we consider our own struggles with sin—unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, or whatever else we wrestle with—we can see how it gives the enemy a foothold. Negative self-talk, self-pity, and selfish ambitions are what he lives for. Food for his dark soul.
We’ve all seen advertisements that depict an angel on one side of a person and the devil on the other. They’re supposed to be humorous, but there is some truth we can take from them. The enemy feeds into our sin to make us ineffective for kingdom glory while the Holy Spirit reminds us of Whose we are and how we should respond.
Romans 8:37-39 says, No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
