3 Truths (And Myths) About Spiritual Warfare

It’s so important to understand the truth and expose the myths if we ever want to learn how to fight spiritual battles (AND WIN!) Today, let’s lay the foundations of what spiritual warfare is. Here, we’ll dive in to HOW to win it.

Truth Number 1: There is an enemy, but God’s love conquers all!

Myth Number 1: That there’s no devil, no spiritual war.

I’ll start by saying that I know some people believe the myth that there is no devil. But this baffles my mind, and I’ll gently tell you why if you want to read on. To a Christian who believes the Bible, it’s real clear:

 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

1 Peter 5:8-9

It also baffles my mind because if someone decides to take the devil out of their beliefs about how the world operates, then who or what do they think is behind all the hate and murder, envy, strife and perversity in this world? Is that why many people blame God for all the evil things? Jesus explains this with night and day clarity: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” It’s real clear that “God is love” (1 John 4:8) and that “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 103:8).

Truth Number 2: Victory is already ours!

Myth Number 2: That we can’t really win against the enemy.

Another false belief is that the devil is an equal opponent. And if a lot of Christians are honest with themselves, they likely have believed the lie that the enemy has more authority and power than God. It can feel that way when we get pummeled over and over. But the truth… Heaven’s no! The devil no equal opponent; he is a defeated foe. We already have victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:56-58).

My small understanding is that spiritual warfare is like a wrestle between the enemy of our souls and God’s people. It’s a battle that must be waged, but if you stand firm, it’s a guaranteed victory. “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:17-19). That’s the power of prayer in agreement!

We are promised victory when we:

• Submit ourselves to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7).
• Humble ourselves before God (many times when we read the word “humble yourselves” in the Bible, it means to fast) (1 Peter 5:6-9).

• Keep up our shield of faith that extinguishes every flaming arrow of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16).

Truth Number 3: God can redeem anything, no matter whose behind it!

Myth Number 3: That every hard thing is from the enemy.

Another false belief I’ve noticed comes up is that every trial comes from the devil. Let’s not give him glory or too much credit. It’s best to cut these words from our vocabulary, that “Oh, the devil is doing this or that.” I means, sometimes, something is obviously demonic going on. But every hard thing, every inconvenience, every suffering… it’s not necessarily the devil.

Some extremely hard things are actually gifts, chances to strengthen our faith or show us something about God we could never experience otherwise. Other times, it’s our cross to bare and we will see fruit in the harvest from it some day. So it’s best to not be quick to judge who is behind what all the time. It’s ok to let the who and why be a mystery because at the end of the day, God really will work it for good and He will use it to make us more like Jesus (Romans 8:26-30). So the victory is always ours if we are in Christ Jesus.

Truly, truly, I tell you what my friend Shea told me… God can redeem anything! And ever since then, I’ve had eyes to see it.

Honestly, it’s so important to understand these truths if we ever want to learn how to fight spiritual battles (AND WIN!)

Here are some more insights from Peter on how to win your spiritual battles:

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
1 Peter 5:6-9

I’m going to close by asking you to watch this video where THOUSANDS of people are getting healed, delivered, set free, and baptized. I cannot stop thinking about it and cannot stop being in awe of what God is doing in the world right now.