Listen Now
MJP writes to us:
In 2005, I made the decision to be baptized and attend church regularly on Sunday mornings. At the time I did not understand what it meant to have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I was practicing religion but was ignorant of the fact that I was quenching His Spirit in me. I knew of God, but did not know Him.
So, as in Job 3:25-26, The thing I greatly feared came upon me. I was not at ease, I had no rest, for trouble came my way. When faced with the beginning of major changes in my life in 2010, I did not know how to overcome. I was ignorant of the enemy and didn’t know about the weapons I had to resist him. Unknowingly, I gave him a foothold into my life.
But God, rich in His mercy, rescued me in 2015 on so many different levels. In His almighty and clever ways, He did for me what He promised to do for His people. After my encounter with Him, I let Him transform me as He spoke tenderly to my heart and stirred up His Spirit within me. Ever since then I have been intentional about growing my relationship with Him. Even though I have been in jail now for four years, fighting for my physical freedom, I have left everything in my heavenly Father’s hands.
One of the influential women God has placed in my life challenged me to write a topical study. I chose a subject matter that could empower and educate others to learn about and suit up against our enemy.
When a coach prepares for a game or a meet, one of the strategies is to watch footage of the opponent’s previous performances. The coach’s assistants and his players watch too. Notes are taken, shared, and studied. Together, they come up with the best defensive and offensive moves to secure a win over their opponent.
The same goes for troops at war. They gather what is called “combat intelligence.” They do all they can to familiarize themselves with their enemy and its resources. And if the troops want to invade the enemy’s territory, they need to familiarize themselves with the enemy’s grounds.
Well, whether you know it or not, there is a war going on. If you are a believer and have surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, you are a child of God. You are His soldier. That’s the good news. The bad news is that you then become an opponent of God’s enemy.
So like a coach with her team or a captain with his troops, we soldiers have to be smart and gather combat intelligence against our enemy.
Who is our enemy? He has several titles which describe what he is like.
He is called “Satan.” This title taken from the Hebrew word for “adversary,” which means one who attacks, accuses, or resists.
He is called “the devil.” This title is taken from the Greek word diabolos, which means someone who slanders or maligns (think of a cancerous tumor).
We can see this when he tempted Jesus after He fasted 40 days and nights in the wilderness.
He is called “Beelzebub,” which means “the lord of the flies” because he is the ruler of all the demons.
He is also called “Lucifer,” which means “Day Star” or “Morning Star.” This title speaks to his original purpose when he was still on God’s side. Because he can still use this ability, it means that he can transform himself into an angel of light. That’s highly deceptive, for sure!
The enemy’s sole desire is to steal, kill, and destroy (JOHN 10:10). He loves to accuse us — God’s chosen people (Revelation 12:11; Job 1) — and put us down.
The Apostle Peter instructs us to be alert and keep a cool head because the devil walks about like a roaring lion, ready to pounce and bring you down (1 Peter 5:8-9). This is because he wants to make us ineffective in life and in this war. He devours us through our fears, anxieties, heartbreaks, failures, loneliness, addictions, and losses — basically, all of our struggles and trials. These struggles and trials are experienced by most everyone. Knowing that should help you not feel alone in the fight.
Now that we have identified who the enemy is and what he aims to do against us, let’s go over some combat intelligence.
In Matthew 2 we learn how the enemy prepped a murderer to try and kill the newborn King Jesus so he could destroy God’s plan for our Savior. If Satan used Herod like that, it is no surprise that he also has nasty plans to kill us emotionally and physically. The enemy is crafty but no match for God.
In Matthew 4 we see an offensive move on the enemy’s part. The devil tempted Jesus when He was physically weak. having fasted for forty days. But notice that Jesus defeated His enemy by using the Word of God as His defense. Jesus did not just recite the Word, He believed it with His whole heart, mind, and soul. We need to believe like Jesus.
As humans, we struggle with three things: our flesh, the world, and the enemy. The enemy knows how to use our flesh and the world against us, but sometimes we do it to ourselves. Scripture warns us not to love the world’s ways or its goods (1 John 2:15-17). Loving these things squeezes out our love for the Father.
John goes on to say that practically everything can be put into those three categories: 1) wanting everything your own way — the flesh; 2) wanting everything for yourself — lust of the eyes; and 3) wanting to appear important — pride of life.
The devil tempted Jesus in those three areas: 1) His flesh by was tempted by Satan trying to get Him to make bread out of stones during His fast; 2) His identity was questioned by Satan saying, “If You are the Son of God”; and 3) His goal of saving the world was threatened by a false shortcut to quickly gain all the kingdoms of the world.
From what I see, these are the only three plays that the enemy uses. So, let’s not slack up on our defense — or offense, for that matter. Let’s not wait for an attack or temptation. Now you are aware and informed. Look up the Bible passages and ask questions until you understand it and can apply it to your everyday life.
Let’s stand our ground in our uniforms of the armor of God (Isaiah 61:10; Ephesians 6:10-18 — there’s so much to learn here, too) and represent God’s camp of troops. That’s a winning team! Let’s not be ignorant concerning this battle. Let’s occupy until Jesus comes back. We are not going to just let stuff happen to us! We are going to fight and gain ground!
