God's promises are as solid as steel; but be careful...
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians 6:12
God's promises never fail, but sometimes the enemy can make it look like that, in an attempt to discourage us or even turn us completely away from God. He loves to make it look like God cannot be trusted and he's "out to get us". But the complete opposite is true. We know that by reading John 3:16 and 17, alone. Jesus is out to save us.
When the enemy craves our attention, he'll bring on all types of challenges to take our minds off of Christ and His Word. Anything to get our attention away from the Lord. Anything to stop us growing and trusting in the Lord. He'll say, "SEE, I TOLD you God wasn't there! I TOLD you he's not listening! I TOLD YOU God doesn’t care!"
But what he won't tell you, is that prayer is answered in God's own time, and for good reason. He may be trying to protect us from some one or some thing. He may have delayed or postponed an appointment you had, to save you from a car accident, or even worse!
It's never a "bad thing" to trust in His timing. It is the best, because answered prayer comes just the time we need it. Not before, and not after. God's timing is perfect, though sometimes, it is hard to be patient. It does pay off. Even if we're not aware of it. Delays teach us to have faith, hope, trust, patience, perseverance, and humbleness, amongst other things. If we were given everything right away, that's not faith....that's manipulation.
The Real Enemy:
Even the Apostle Paul reminded believers that human beings, difficult circumstances, or physical opposition, are not the true enemies. The real battle is spiritual, originating from unseen forces of evil, darkness, and deception. Think not?
Let's look at 1 Peter 5:8:
"Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
The "Armor of God" scripture in Ephesians 6:12, encourages believers to rely on spiritual tools like faith, prayer, and truth to endure hardships.
Paul makes the point that we need to be strong not in our own strength, but in the LORD. Ephesians 6.10 -- “Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.”
Most believers are very aware of Satan’s influence in our world today. We know he is opposed to God and His will, at all turns, and he will ferociously fight to keep all that he has laid claim to. What we don’t often think about, is how we as individual believers fit into the intensity of Satan’s raging against God.
The Scriptures tell us that his objective was, and continues to be, lying about, and undermining the authority that ultimately belongs to the Most High God, for himself. Anyone and anything that in any way, shape, or form, stands in the way of Satan’s fight over his perceived authority, is fair game for his unrighteous anger. As Christians, we love God supremely and seek to daily walk in the footsteps of our Lord, Christ Jesus. This blessing means we are also Satan’s prime targets. Therefore, we need to be protected by spiritual armor....prayer and God's Word.
Ephesians 6:11 says: “Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”
The armor’s purpose is to enable us to “stand firm against the schemes of the devil,” meaning his strategies of attack. We know he has many ways to attack us as that “roaring lion,” forcefully trying to destroy our loyalty and trust in our Heavenly Father. He wants us to turn our trials into tragedies and walk away from God forever!
In Ephesians 2:2O, Satan is called “the prince of the power of the air,” which includes the angelic forces of evil and occult powers.
Christians do not need to fear Satan and his army, because Jesus Christ [b]already defeated the powers of darkness on the cross. Believers are spiritually protected by the Holy Spirit, which is more powerful than any worldly evil.
[/b]
The Ultimate Victory Has Been Won
While Satan is active, his ultimate defeat is already sealed. Jesus' death and resurrection str!pped Satan of his ultimate authority over believers, meaning they fight from a place of victory, not for it.
The Holy Spirit Within
The Holy Spirit lives inside every believer. The Bible emphasizes this with the truth that "He who is in you, is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4), rendering Christians secure.
Spiritual Protection (The Armor of God)
Believers are not left defenseless! Standing firm against temptation. includes truth, faith, and the Word of God, which are used to resist the devil's schemes, rather than run from them.
The Bible promises that God always provides a way to withstand temptation, and evil forces are instructed to flee when we pray by the authority of Jesus Christ.
In ourselves, we are of no threat to Satan and his demons. However, when we pray in the name of Jesus and by HIS authority, Satan knows who Jesus is, and His mighty power. So when we pray in the name of Jesus and by HIS AUTHORITY, Satan listens real quick and he flees, because he is afraid of the blood of Jesus. He knows it's resurrection power.
God's promises never fail, but sometimes the enemy can make it look like that, in an attempt to discourage us or even turn us completely away from God. He loves to make it look like God cannot be trusted and he's "out to get us". But the complete opposite is true. We know that by reading John 3:16 and 17, alone. Jesus is out to save us.
When the enemy craves our attention, he'll bring on all types of challenges to take our minds off of Christ and His Word. Anything to get our attention away from the Lord. Anything to stop us growing and trusting in the Lord. He'll say, "SEE, I TOLD you God wasn't there! I TOLD you he's not listening! I TOLD YOU God doesn’t care!"
But what he won't tell you, is that prayer is answered in God's own time, and for good reason. He may be trying to protect us from some one or some thing. He may have delayed or postponed an appointment you had, to save you from a car accident, or even worse!
It's never a "bad thing" to trust in His timing. It is the best, because answered prayer comes just the time we need it. Not before, and not after. God's timing is perfect, though sometimes, it is hard to be patient. It does pay off. Even if we're not aware of it. Delays teach us to have faith, hope, trust, patience, perseverance, and humbleness, amongst other things. If we were given everything right away, that's not faith....that's manipulation.
The Real Enemy:
Even the Apostle Paul reminded believers that human beings, difficult circumstances, or physical opposition, are not the true enemies. The real battle is spiritual, originating from unseen forces of evil, darkness, and deception. Think not?
Let's look at 1 Peter 5:8:
"Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
The "Armor of God" scripture in Ephesians 6:12, encourages believers to rely on spiritual tools like faith, prayer, and truth to endure hardships.
Paul makes the point that we need to be strong not in our own strength, but in the LORD. Ephesians 6.10 -- “Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.”
Most believers are very aware of Satan’s influence in our world today. We know he is opposed to God and His will, at all turns, and he will ferociously fight to keep all that he has laid claim to. What we don’t often think about, is how we as individual believers fit into the intensity of Satan’s raging against God.
The Scriptures tell us that his objective was, and continues to be, lying about, and undermining the authority that ultimately belongs to the Most High God, for himself. Anyone and anything that in any way, shape, or form, stands in the way of Satan’s fight over his perceived authority, is fair game for his unrighteous anger. As Christians, we love God supremely and seek to daily walk in the footsteps of our Lord, Christ Jesus. This blessing means we are also Satan’s prime targets. Therefore, we need to be protected by spiritual armor....prayer and God's Word.
Ephesians 6:11 says: “Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”
The armor’s purpose is to enable us to “stand firm against the schemes of the devil,” meaning his strategies of attack. We know he has many ways to attack us as that “roaring lion,” forcefully trying to destroy our loyalty and trust in our Heavenly Father. He wants us to turn our trials into tragedies and walk away from God forever!
In Ephesians 2:2O, Satan is called “the prince of the power of the air,” which includes the angelic forces of evil and occult powers.
Christians do not need to fear Satan and his army, because Jesus Christ [b]already defeated the powers of darkness on the cross. Believers are spiritually protected by the Holy Spirit, which is more powerful than any worldly evil.
[/b]
The Ultimate Victory Has Been Won
While Satan is active, his ultimate defeat is already sealed. Jesus' death and resurrection str!pped Satan of his ultimate authority over believers, meaning they fight from a place of victory, not for it.
The Holy Spirit Within
The Holy Spirit lives inside every believer. The Bible emphasizes this with the truth that "He who is in you, is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4), rendering Christians secure.
Spiritual Protection (The Armor of God)
Believers are not left defenseless! Standing firm against temptation. includes truth, faith, and the Word of God, which are used to resist the devil's schemes, rather than run from them.
The Bible promises that God always provides a way to withstand temptation, and evil forces are instructed to flee when we pray by the authority of Jesus Christ.
In ourselves, we are of no threat to Satan and his demons. However, when we pray in the name of Jesus and by HIS authority, Satan knows who Jesus is, and His mighty power. So when we pray in the name of Jesus and by HIS AUTHORITY, Satan listens real quick and he flees, because he is afraid of the blood of Jesus. He knows it's resurrection power.
