May 1, 2021
God Will Let You Be Attacked
One truth that Christians need to accept is that God will allow Satan to attack Christians so that Christians will learn to fight. Through these battles, we will mature spiritually, grow deeper in our relationship with God, and win other people to Christ.
As 1 Peter 1:7 says, “These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (NIV)
In short, God allows the battle for our good so that we will be conformed to the image of His Son, recognize we are nothing without Him, and be prepared for eternity. Even though God could remove all battles from our lives, He won’t. He wants us to learn to fight.
So that’s the reality of the situation:
There is a spiritual battle.
You’re in it.
Satan, our enemy hates us and wants to destroy us.
God will allow these attacks and battles to come our way so that we grow spiritually.
This brings us to our second choice, “Will you “put on” the spiritual armor that God has given you, or are you going to be a wimpy, defeated victim that falls into every trap the enemy sets for you?
This is where the rubber meets the road.
When we don’t wear our spiritual armor and use the weapons God has given us to live in victory, when we ignore the spiritual war going on around us, we are choosing to lose the battle.
Worse yet, when we choose to believe that there is no spiritual battle, thus there’s no need for us to “put on” the armor of God, we are disobeying God and the Bible. Because as Christians, we aren’t given the option of whether or not to use our spiritual weapons and fight. Not one sentence in Ephesians 6:13-18 says, “If you want to” or “If you feel like it.” These are imperative sentences commanding us to use these weapons to win the spiritual battles in our lives.
Failure to do it will bring defeat. Obedience to God’s command to dress will bring victory. It’s that simple. As men of God, our passionate pursuit is to walk in God’s total victory.
Men, it’s time to suit up!
Memory Verse: These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:7, NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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