Fight From a Position of Victory



"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 6:13)

One of the biggest misconceptions about spiritual warfare can be cleared up when we pause and reflect on the truth of Ephesians 6:13. It’s all wrapped up in the word “stand.” Most of us perceive our enemy is having the high ground, of being in an entrenched position of strength, and spiritual warfare is therefore trying to defeat an enemy who is winning. In that scenario we’re the ones on the losing end and our enemy is fighting with the advantage. But like everything else from our enemy, that’s a lie (John 8:44).

When Paul tells the Ephesian Christians to engage in spiritual warfare, he repeats the word “stand” twice. Why so? Because the enemy doesn’t have the high ground, we do! The enemy isn’t fighting from a position of victory, we are! When Jesus conquered death and sin on the cross, he handed us a victory that the enemy has been trying to deprive us of ever since. That mindset shift is absolutely crucial for successful spiritual warfare. Too many Christians are afraid of the devil when in reality he’s afraid of us because we have the Spirit of Jesus inside of us. We have the high ground. We already have the victory. We’re not trying to steal a victory from the enemy, he’s trying to deprive us of the victory that is already ours.

That’s why James could write, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7), because he understood that spiritual warfare isn’t about us trying to dislodge the devil from his high ground, it’s about the devil trying to dislodge us from the victory that we already have in Jesus. Never forget that in spiritual warfare, you’re not the underdog, the devil is.

ON THE COUCH WITH GOD

1. When you think about fighting the devil through spiritual warfare, do you see yourself having the advantage or disadvantage in the battle? How do you think your perception of the fight affects how you fight?

2. If you truly are fighting from a position of victory, if the enemy truly is the underdog, and if John is correct when he writes, the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4), what impact should that have on your spiritual warfare?

NEXT STEP

The next step for fighting from a position of victory is to utilize strategic thanksgiving. Spend time in prayer (you can write it out as your warfare prayer to God) thanking God for the victory he’s already given you. Thanksgiving reminds you and reminds the enemy of the victory Jesus has already achieved for you.


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