By Adam Griffin
The armor of God is given because our battle is not against other people, but against spiritual forces and the evil one. Believers are able to withstand and fight in spiritual battles when equipped with the full spiritual armor God provides.
In both the Old Testament and New Testament we are warned about our incessant opponent. His strategies are clever. His desires are evil. His position is clear. His crafty offers and deceptive promises are often appealing, but beneath their treacherous veneer, his suggestions are toxic and corrupt.
All Christians have the same common enemy. 1 Peter 5:8 calls him our “adversary the devil.” Make no mistake, you have a very real enemy. You who are in Christ are opposed. And you have been called upon to resist.
What does resisting the devil look like for us? Being a Christian means taking a bold stand. To resist is to follow Jesus and be audacious in how we refuse to give in to temptation. Even when disobedience seems preferable or advantageous, we Christians must still choose to obey Christ. In fact, where we feel the tug of sin’s gravity we don’t just endure it, we fight back. “We demolish arguments and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2Corinthians 10:4–5). It is our obedience that is both our joy and our strategy for victory.
None of our strengths is enough to personally secure our own victory without the support and restoration of Christ. 1 Peter 5:10 reminds us where our true strength comes from. There’s no amount of personal exertion that wins our battles for us. Yes, we wage war, but we battle an enemy who has already been defeated, and not by us.
Here is the truly better news. Make no mistake, you have a very real God. A God who “cares about you” (1Peter 5:7). A God who establishes you. A God who strengthens you. A God who supports you. A God who guards you. A God who Himself suffered to defeat your enemy. He died but did not stay dead so that you might have confidence in the fact that you will die but not stay dead.
The best way to resist the enemy is to surrender to our true King. It almost sounds antithetical. To win you surrender. When we surrender to the will of our God who cares for us, even when it may be unpopular, then we resist the devil and become more than conquerors. This is the wonderful truth of being on the side of God. It is in His strength that we have victory, not our own. He can be trusted.
What temptation have you treated as insignificant enough or too shameful to bring to God? He has the strength for you to demolish it. He cares for you. Trust Him with your battle.
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