Our WAR is NOT with People!

“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 ‭6:12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Offenses are inevitable. They will happen. Hard times are inevitable. They will happen. We learn in Ephesians that we are not battling against people but spiritual forces. The evil one wants us to live offended and wreak havoc in our lives and relationships. We are also taught in Romans to bless those that persecute us. “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” Romans‬ ‭12:14‬ ‭NIV‬‬. When we bless those that seem to be in opposition to us, we are being obedient. We can choose to pray and bless others when it seems like the world is against us. We can still press on and remain positive and let our speech be life giving when we recognize that the war we are in is spiritual and not against people. We can press on in faith through prayer to cast our cares on Him and allow Him to fight our battles for us. As we focus on prayer and bring our offenses and problems to our Father, we put things in the right order and allow Him to lead us as He walks with us through the war! Look up and focus on Jesus and not on the circumstances, and He will see us through.

Lord when offenses and hard times rise remind us that this is the time to look up and pray and press in to you and bridle our tongue to speak life and pray for the situation instead of fretting and giving our emotions to the war inside. Remind us to not focus on the circumstances or offense but to pray and cast our cares and not give power to the evil one who wants us to live in torment and fear. Amen

Illustrations by Haley Punjak