When I was young, my family took a vacation to the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. I remember us walking around downtown, exploring new places, and hiking in the mountains. All of those are vague memories. Memories that you love at the time and occasionally recount when reminiscing with your family about past years, but there is one event from that vacation that I often think of. I’m pretty sure I’ll think about it for the rest of my life.
It wasn’t a huge, life-altering event. It wasn’t coming face-to-face with a bear or getting lost in the woods. But to me, it was more profound than that. I didn’t realize as a kid that this event would continue to have an impact on me for years to come, but I’m thankful it has.
“Onward, Christian Soldier”
My family was hiking in the Smoky Mountains. It wasn’t extremely strenuous by any means, but for a small kid, it became tiring after a while. I remember we were walking up an incline, and after a while I told my dad that I was tired. In that moment, my dad told me of a hymn that goes…
“Onward, Christian soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!”
And so I sang that verse in my head as I trudged up the big hill. There is something about picturing the cross of Jesus going before you that puts strength into your heart. I pictured Jesus walking up that hill before me, and if Jesus was leading me, I could make it up and complete the hike. I did complete that hike, and I gained a whole new perspective on how God is with me and who I am called to be. Part of my calling is being a soldier in the ongoing spiritual battle.
The Unseen Battle
You see, I haven’t been to war, but I’m a part of a war that has been going on since the beginning of time—since Adam and Eve. This war isn’t like the wars in our past that you learn about in history books or wars you might have lived through in your lifetime. This war is far bigger. As a matter of fact, it’s the greatest war that will ever be fought.
This war isn’t against human flesh. This war is a spiritual war—a war that is constantly being fought all around us. It’s a war against Satan and his forces. It is a war against the evil of this world that attempts to take over our souls. When we become followers of Jesus, he equips us with everything necessary to fight in this battle. The Bible calls us to put on the full armor of God.
“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” – Ephesians 6:11-12
Jesus goes before me in this war. I fix my eyes on him. There are many distractions all around me, many arrows flying at me, BUT when I fix my eyes on my King, the author and perfector of my faith, I am victorious!
Hebrews 12:1-2 says:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
How to Fight This Spiritual Battle
To fight in this battle, you must know your enemy. Our enemy is Satan, and his schemes can be noticed in the Bible. The Bible tells us how to fight!
Be Alert and Sober-Minded
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” – 1 Peter 5:8
“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” – 1 Peter 1:13
Being alert means preparing your mind for action. Do you notice the ways Satan is seeking to attack you? While not every circumstance is from the devil or an evil force (sometimes God brings things to test us so that we can be refined by fire), Satan, demons, and evil are very much real.
Start to notice what causes you to tick or triggers you. The devil comes to seek, kill, and destroy. While the devil can’t read our minds or know our thoughts, he can see our reaction to different circumstances and events. The devil isn’t sitting back with his popcorn just watching our life unfold; he is supernaturally involved in the world and “prowling around like a lion.” He will learn what triggers you and use it to make you stumble, bringing those same situations into your life again and again.
Have you ever seen a lion stalking its prey? They do everything to not be heard or seen for as long as possible until they have the opportunity to pounce on their prey. You may not even notice the attacks from the devil in the beginning—especially if you are not feeding yourself daily with God’s word and meditating on His truth throughout the day.
I recently heard of the imagery that when a frog is put into boiling water, it tries to jump out because it realizes how hot the water is and how painful it is. But when a frog is put into room-temperature water, and that water is slowly heated up to boiling, the frog doesn’t recognize the change or that he is in danger.
Satan’s game is a lot like that of the frog in the slowly heated water. He doesn’t mind turning up the heat slowly so that we don’t realize the slow fade we are on. We live in a society that has started to think that the sin that Jesus died for is okay—and even okay for us to have entertainment from. How many movies, TV shows, songs, comedy shows, books make light of the sin that leads to death? The sin that Jesus had to shed his blood to cover on the cross?
“But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” – James 1:14-15
Take note of the water getting warmer. Take note and fight against the seemingly small compromises.
Common Tactics of the Enemy
The devil tempts you into thinking something will bring you pleasure, but after you give in to that temptation, the devil shames you.
Shame makes us feel like we need to hide from God. It makes us feel like we messed up, and instead of running towards God, we may run away from Him. This is what Satan ultimately wants.
To the non-Christian, the pleasures Satan offers seem great. The life of being able to “do whatever you want” is enticing because you often see the immediate effects of this pleasure, but then people hide the long-term effects behind their shame.
People often don’t like to admit that their wealth and greed have actually contributed to their loneliness. They don’t want to talk about how the next day, after a night of laughing and getting drunk with friends at a bar, the sadness slowly creeps back in once the temporary escape wears off.
Fighting the Temptation
Even though we may know that ultimately, the sin Satan is tempting us with will not lead to true joy, we still struggle with this temptation. Paul says in Romans 7 that he wants to do what is right, but he can’t. The evil that he doesn’t want is what he keeps doing. “Who will deliver me?” he says. The Lord Jesus!
We see this played out in Jesus’s own life here on Earth. When Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by Satan, Jesus quoted Scripture to rebuke Satan’s lies. The word “Satan” in Hebrew means “adversary” or “accuser.” While God is for you, Satan is against you. In court, Satan is the prosecutor, and he has charges against you.
Satan condemns, but the Holy Spirit convicts.
Satan shames, but God saves.
Your Spiritual Arsenal: Fighter Verses
I like to call the encouraging verses that I’ve memorized and can meditate on when I’m struggling, being tempted, or feeling worried or doubtful my “fighter verses.”
Below is a list of 10 fighter verses that I encourage you to keep in your arsenal so that when the enemy attacks, you will have darts of truth to throw at his lies:
- Isaiah 41:10
- Isaiah 26:3
- Psalm 63:3
- Psalm 37:23-24
- Jeremiah 17:7-8
- Philippians 4:4
- Lamentations 3:21-23
- Lamentations 3:55-57
- Isaiah 40:27-28
- 1 Peter 5:6-7
Sin comes at a cost, and that cost is one you cannot pay. So stand strong, Christian soldier. Put on the full armor of God and FIGHT!
“And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” – Deuteronomy 8:3
By Grace Alone,
Rebekah Elizabeth
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