From the moment we enter into this troubled world, we are surrounded by what I call ‘The Enemies of our Life’. This is a territory surrounded by insurmountable circumstances that we can never fully control. As we live, we must first know what these enemies are and secondly we must learn to defeat them.
In the book of Ephesians (6:12) we learn about our true enemy.
The Verse reads;
“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.
It is important to know our enemies, because only then can we be properly empowered to defeat them. As we learn about these enemies, it is even more important to know our Friend. James said it this way;
“And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.“
We should use this scripture as proof of the promise of God, which states that as long as we believe in and trust Him, we are His friends. As we believe and trust Him, we should be confident in our expression of His grace. By this I mean, we should stand on the power of His grace while keeping in mind that his grace is sufficient.
‘His grace is sufficient for us’.
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
In our weakness, and in the presence of the enemies of our life, we should remember that God’s grace is sufficient. The Bible says that where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. This means that as followers of Christ, not even our filth and nothingness can prevent us from experiencing His grace.
If we are to ever experience the fullness of God’s grace, then we must come to the point of realization of our own insufficiency. It is at the end of our efforts that God’s divinity kicks in. This point of humility is where God will greet you with His marvelous grace.
Break Free and Fight
If we allow it, Satan will keep us in the prison of his trickery. We should understand that Satan is after our minds, our hearts and ultimately our souls. His way to achieve this quest is to keep us in prison walls. Often these walls that keep us captive are only in our heads. It is one thing to be in a physical prison made with iron and bricks, but the true battle is in a prison not made with human hands. Consider fighting an enemy you cannot see, in a land you do not know. How can you even begin to fight such an opposition?
The good news is that God, the Master Planner and Builder, has taught us about our true enemy and how to defeat him.We should break free with this knowledge and fight with the power of our anointing. Consider Ephesians 6:12, where the Bible speaks about this enemy. The verse tells us that we do not fight with flesh and blood, but the real fight is with;
“principalities and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world and against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
What the scripture here is saying is that our true enemy does not have blood and flesh like humans do. However, according to the verse, we fight against spiritual serpents and scorpions, principalities and hosts of wickedness in high places.
Satan is our true enemy
Many times we fight against each other, not knowing that we are fighting the wrong war. Consider a wife and a husband who constantly battle against each other, not seeing that they have a common enemy. What they do not see are the demons and devils of separation that are against both of them. They however, will fight each other so mercilessly.
What if the husband knew that his wife is not his enemy, and likewise, the wife realizes that her husband is her friend. It may not be a spouse, but what about friends and other relatives. How many times do we engage in family conflicts, not knowing that there is a common enemy that seeks to destroy families and communities and friends.
It would be so wonderful if we could recognize that Satan is our true enemy. This culprit, the Bible explains as being a killer and a destroyer. Lucifer the serpent is desperately wicked, and he will work overtime in a effort to defeat us. though this is so, as long as we stay attached to the true vine, and remain sculptured in the Rock, satan can never snatch us out of God’s hands.
See Also : The Armor of God is Our Protection
God is our Friend
We often get bombarded by the knowledge of our adversary, while forgetting the great Presence of our Friend. The Bible says that He, the Lord of Host our Friend, will never leave us nor forsake us. “What a friend,” The song writer says, “What a friend we have in Jesus!”
Imagine having a Friend who goes everywhere with you. This friend will die with you, and live with you. A friend that goes to the park with you, and keeps your company on the subway. Imagine that this Friend is all Powerful, Knows all things, and has total control of everything. How much more confident would you be to face life’s challenges if you have this friend by your side?
Well today I have good news for you. For the broken, this news is Gospel. The good news is that this friend that we speak of is Jesus, and the one that He walks with is you. You must know this, oh dear friend, you must hold this knowledge intact with your heart.
This knowledge will empower you to face life’s troubles from a place of faith, rather than a place of fear. The Bible says that many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers Him out of them all. This means that no matter how multiple our circumstances may be we have a Friend that will deliver us out of every circumstance.
How do we fight our enemy?
In the book of Ephesians, we learn of the weapons of our warfare. The Scripture reads;
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
When we fight, we should learn to fight right. Fighting right is both fighting with the right spiritual mindset and also fighting the right battles. This means that we will not fight flesh and blood (our brothers and sisters), but we will fight against Lucifer and the diabolic forces that go against the knowledge of God in us. I say knowledge of God, because the only way for satan to defeat us is to distort our understanding of the knowledge of God.
As we fight, we will realize that as long as we hold to the truth that is within us, then the external lies can do us no harm. What is going on around us might be strategically positioned. We might say that the positioning of life’s circumstances is from the enemy, but we must never forget that God has total control. When Joseph’s brother sold him into slavery (Egypt), Joseph didn’t complain saying God had forgotten him. What Joseph did was to recognize that God was still in control.
Joseph’s comment was;
“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” -Genesis 50:20
Joseph recognized that the enemy could not harm him as long as he walked with God. He looked at this situation from a place of faith.
Joseph’s method of victory was FAITH.
The master key to spiritual victory is to trust in the WORD of God. This is exactly what Joseph did in this situation, when his brothers sold him into slavery. Joseph trusted the God on the inside rather than the situations on the outside. He was fully equipped with the spiritual armors spoken about in Ephesians 6.
Imagine if Joseph didn’t know the WORD of God. He would have had no basis to his trust (nothing to trust in). Imagine how the enemy must have tormented Joseph with the fiery darts of lies and deceit. Yet Joseph remained resolute, and he trusted God through it all.
This is Joseph’s story, but what about the Apostles. Many were killed for the sake of the Gospel, yet they were all victorious in the purpose of God. Stephen was stoned to death, yet he died preaching the Gospel. Paul was slashed and put in prison, yet he remained in line with the purpose of God. Jeremiah was ridiculed and wanted to retire from the work, but the WORD of God the Bible said was like a fire in his bones. And Jeremiah continued to continue.
All these servants remained faithful in the most difficult situations, because they never ceased from walking with God. This is our victory then my friends, when we walk with God and trust in Him. As we do this we remain and as a result, we cannot be removed from the Presence of our God.
10 Scriptures that speaks about defeating our enemy
5. "No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication is from Me," declares the Lord."
"Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts."
“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
30. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart…”
19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
20. “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
"This is what the Lord says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's." 2 Chron. 20:15
“For You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.” Ps. 18:39
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”
Conclusion
As the scriptures say “Nothing can separate us(whom God called) from His great Love.” As we go about our daily journeys, let us remember that God is before all things, and as we trust Him, He fulfills His will for our lives.
We can be victorious, but we have to give God total control through putting our faith in Him, and not in circumstances. May you find the power you have over your Life’s Enemies, and may the Holy Spirit enlighten you to go on. God Bless you!
