Remember when Elisha and his servant found themselves surrounded by formidable Aramaean armies? The servant was in despair because he knew they stood no chance. Then Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes.” When they looked around, the servant saw the chariots of fire protecting them. Those who were for them were greater than those who were against them.
When you are at war, you should be careful to distinguish between allies and adversaries. Our great Advocate is none other than the Lord. If God is for us, who can be against us? Paul enumerates: our struggle is not against flesh and blood. We are not fighting against people. We can get confused about this in our current culture wars. People are not the enemy. God loves people so much that he gave his only son. So we are not free to hate or harm people!
On the other hand, there are forces of evil arrayed against us. Paul’s language suggests that our opponents are many, organized, substantial and formidable. He lists categories of rulers, authorities, powers and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. These are not our neighbors who refuse to believe in Jesus. No, our enemies are the minions of a great personal evil.
This is why we need our full armor. A day of evil is coming. Only when we use the spiritual resources God has given us can we stand our ground. We may not claim new territory against the enemy today. But we will not yield a single inch of our spiritual lives, or our homes to the forces of evil. This requires awareness and intentionality. Let us consecrate our homes and our families against all the forces of evil in our world. God is with us and for us, no matter who is against us.
