Most everyone I know loves the Star Wars franchise. We grew up not well off financially so eating out and going out were seldom events. So imagine my surprise when we jumped in the car to go see The Empire Strikes Back!! It was an incredible moment and I watched everything Star Wars since then.
But what if I told you we really were in a battle against evil? What if I told you there was such a thing as a spiritual light saber (tune in next week for more on this)?
Paul introduces us to this battle against an unseen enemy who truly wants to destroy everything you love. In Ephesians 6:10-12, he describes our battle which is not against flesh and blood but against the unseen world following the Devil himself. But how does the Devil attack us if we can’t see him? Well, he’ll attack you where you are most vulnerable. Where ever the vulnerable place is in your life is where the Devil will attack. Here are the top 5:
Anger. I’m 50% Irish so I blame my anger streak on my heritage. But there is something about anger, if unchecked, allows the Devil to breakthrough your defenses and set up basecamp. Once we’ve allowed that, we will begin to justify all kinds of things to make us feel right about it.
Pride. Most of us have had moments of overconfidence. There have been times in your life when someone you know fell down metaphorically and you laughed. You said that would never happen to you. You are too “on top of it” for that to happen to you. When you do that, you’ve invited the enemy into your life.
Distraction. This might be the worst one currently as most Americans are very distracted. Social media does it to us all the time. You’ve experience God moving in your life in some way and then it happens. Work calls and they need you to work weekends. Something happens with the kids or your marriage. Some out of the blue thing occurs which makes you adjust the Kingdom work you were going to get in to.
Division. The Devil knows if he can get us to turn on each other, he’ll pick us off one by one. Jesus prayed for our unity in John 17 but for some reason, our selfishness gets in the way of working together for the cross and we end up with arms crossed, not working together.
Isolation. Over the last three years we’ve been isolated. It appears the very thing that kept us physically healthy has weakened us spiritually. Social distancing and isolation have been a death kneel for many folks who called themselves Christians. The worst thing we can do is say, “I don’t need people or the church. I’ve got this. I don’t need anyone.” The Apostle Peter says that the Devil is like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour (1 Peter 5:8). Don’t be alone…it’s dangerous.
To be sure, we need Jesus Christ and we need the church. There’s way too much at stake to not take this battle seriously. Be alert. Realize the unseen world is real. Know where your vulnerabilities lie. Know through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can defeat the Devil. Blessings on your journey.