In God’s mighty power we fight!

As a believer in Christ, God has already given me the power to sustain, the power to fight the good fight of faith, to push back in His power the schemes and attacks of the devil in my life. God is at work in me. I must pray and ask Him to continually renew that power and strength within me through the power of the Holy Spirit.

I cannot in my own power withstand the attacks of the evil one. This is key. So many try to fight in their own power not even realizing they are doing it… And then they wonder why they fall prey to temptation and sin, why they do not have the energy to keep on withstanding the trials, temptations, and struggles, and why they may even give up trying. It is because they have begun to try it on their own, in their own power. I have been guilty of this too, and I have confessed this failing to the Lord and asked Him to renew my strength to keep fighting on in His power.

As a believer in Christ, I have access to the power and strength that raised Christ from the dead according to Ephesians 1: 18-20. That is an amazing amount of power that we as believers have access to. Eph. 1:19 calls it “incomparably great power for all those who believe.” God exerted His mighty strength in Christ when he raised Him from the dead and seated him at His right hand in the heavenly realms (Eph. 1:19,20).

I posted earlier this week a passage from Ephesians 6, from the armor of God passage. Ephesians 6: 10 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His mighty power.” This is key to being able to live life for God- through his power.

Ephesians 6:11-12 “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.” We don’t take our stand on our own against the devil’s schemes. It is foolishness and likely prideful if we do, for we do not have power in ourselves to continually withstand those attacks through self-resolve. We must lean into God and how He has equipped us to fight the fight against evil. Our fight is not against what we see, against our circumstances before us, but there is so much more going on behind any battle, trial, temptation we face in this life. Can you look at your current circumstances or a past circumstance and see behind it, see beyond it through spiritual lenses to ascertain what was at stake for you or your family? What fight for your heart, soul, and mind was occurring? The unseen fight. What fight was occurring for those around you, those who you interacted with and “happened” to come into contact with in that circumstance? What did God want to do through your one life in revealing Himself to you and others around you, to make magnify His name?

And so, what is the armor of God that is needed to fight that good fight of faith? Ephesians 6:13- 18 speaks on what is needed for the full armor of God: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, readiness from the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (word of God), and then, it is important to be praying in the Spirit on all occasions, being alert, and always keeping on praying for the saints. It is clearly not a battle to be won in our own strength, but only through the Holy Spirit’s power. Pray and ask Him for His help in your fight. He hears you.