The Battle is Won

by Beth Fore

“Finally, be strong in the Lord
and in his mighty power. Put
on the full armor of God, so
that you can take your stand
against the devil’s schemes.
For our struggle is not against
flesh and blood, but against
the rulers, against the authorities,
against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms. Therefore
put on the full armor of God,
so that when the day of evil comes,
you may be able to stand your
ground, and after you have
done everything, to stand.”

(Ephesians 6:10-13 NIV)

The Battle is Won

We are surrounded on every side
with sickness, evil, and depression.
Satan’s powerful deceitful forces
bombard us with defeat and oppression.

This sinful world is filled with agony
from suffering, pain, grief, and loss.
It is only through the mercy of a loving God
that the sins of this world are nailed to the cross.

Jesus endured much pain and affliction
and relentless persecution from the enemy;
yet He responded with love and kindness
and honored His father with great humility.

When our minds and bodies grow weary,
Jesus promises to give the heavy-laden rest.
When we surrender all of our burdens and cares,
He will draw us close to His loving breast.

Jehovah God is the only Sovereign Lord,
and He will ultimately defeat the enemy.
As Christians, we are soldiers in His army
and we will share in His glorious victory.

written by Beth Fore

*All Christians are in a battle with Satan and sin, and the only thing that can defeat Satan is the full armor of God and the blood of Jesus Christ, and his resurrection, which defeated death.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”  (Ephesians 6:10 NIV)

Christians must be knowledgeable and well-protected against Satan and his angels.  Satan is powerful and deceitful, and his greatest desire is to distract Christians so that they take their focus off of Jesus and put it on themselves.  He wants to dismantle God’s kingdom and entice Christians to follow him, rather than Jesus.

Satan attacks us with sickness, death, hopelessness, depression, poverty, war, dissension, and many other arrows of sorrow.  He wants to take away the joy and hope we have in Christ so that we don’t believe God’s promises.  He is relentless and he targets our weak spots, so we must be ever mindful of his presence, and we must put on the full armor of God and ask the Holy Spirit to give us strength to deny him and submit only to the will of God.

*Our struggle is against the rulers, authorities, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  (Ephesians 6:12 NIV)

There are forces for good and evil in the heavenly realm, just as there are forces for good and evil in the earthly realm.  We don’t know who, or what, all of these forces are, but the Bible says that these are the spiritual forces of evil that we are really striving against.  Since we do not know who, or what, all of these forces are, we must ask the Holy Spirit and Jesus to surround us with their angels and other heavenly beings and protect us from the evil ones.  When there are strange happenings in our lives which we cannot explain, we must remember that there is a mighty battle between the forces of good and evil being fought in the heavenly places that affects our daily lives on earth.

*Christ is victorious over death, and His victory is our victory when we believe Him, trust Him, and obey Him.

“Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God!  He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Corinthians 15:55-57 NIV)

Christians who pray, study God’s Word, depend on God to lead and guide them into truth, and who are prepared for warfare with Satan and put on the armor of God will be victorious!  Jehovah God is the only Sovereign Lord and He is above all people and all things, including Satan and his angels.  We are the children of God, the soldiers in His army, and his heirs for eternity; therefore, when the world is destroyed, Christ will take the faithful ones home to heaven to live with Him eternally.

APPLICATIONS

1. Think about Satan and what you know about him.  Write it down on a piece of paper.  Then spend some time looking for scriptures in the Bible that tell you more about Satan and his power.  A person needs to know and understand his enemy so that he can resist him and recognize him when he attacks.
2. What is the full armor of God?  Do you arm yourself with God’s armor every day?
3. Think about some of your weaknesses and pray about them.  Pray for God’s strength to overcome them.  Pray that God will help you be wiser and more discerning so that you will know when it is Satan who is attacking you.
4. Most of us would look at the battle differently if we knew the outcome before fighting the battle.  Does it make you look at the struggles and conflicts in your own life differently when you know that you will go home to live with God when the battle is over?

If you want to learn more about what it means to be a Christian or to become a Christian, click this link: https://woww.newlifebehavior.org/what-it-means-to-follow-jesus-how-to-become-a-christian/ If you have questions, please send us an email at nlbiministry@gmail.com.