Finally be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil.  For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.
This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything to take your stand.
Ephesians 6:10-13 HCSB

Soldiers train for battle during times of peace. We don’t close our military bases and send everyone home during times of peace. We use these times to train them and equip them for battle. This has been done since the Old Testament. We are told in 2 Chronicles chapter 14-15 that King Asa did what was right in the Lord’s sight. He experienced peace during his reign up until the 35th year. Asa used this time to remove the pagan practices from the land. He brought revival to the land, but he also secured his cities by building fortresses around them. He had an army prepared or battle. And most importantly in 14:11 when the Cushite army of one million men went against Asa’s army of 300,00 men, Asa cried out to God for help. He didn’t try to do it alone. In 14:11, Asa prayed, “Lord, there is no one besides you to help the mighty and those without strength. Help us, LORD our God, for we depend on you, and in your name we have come against this large army. Yahweh, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal hinder You.” The Cushites fled from Asa and his army, but they pursued them and destroyed them.

Asa used this time of peace to secure his cities. He used this time to remove sinful practices or things that were against God. Every day we must prepare for spiritual battle. We must remove any sinful practices in our lives. We must pray daily to God for His help as we face potential battles.

We must size up our enemy.  Asa knew that this army had one million men and that his army was no match for this vast number. But he also knew that with God’s strength mere mortals could not defeat them. He knew it was a spiritual battle. We’ve seen numerous battles in the Bible where small armies conquer huge armies with God’s help. Asa recognized that only God could help him and his army. They depended on God. We must always depend on God. We must daily live out Proverbs 3:5-6 which tells us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and not to lean on our own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all our ways and He will make our paths straight.

My friend I don’t know what you may be going through today. Maybe you feel as though a large army is coming against you. Maybe you are enjoying a time of peace. But for the last few days we have been talking about keeping ourselves secure from the devil. This is crucial because it leads to us keeping our relationships secure. This includes marriages, family, friendships and churches. We do this to prevent an invasion by the devil. We want to keep him out at all costs.

Spiritual battle is a way of life for us as we go through each and every day. We never know when, where, how or through whom the devil will attack. But you can rest assured that if you are trying to do what is right, he will attack. He will come against you. You must be prepared.

You must understand that it is a spiritual battle. You must understand who your enemy is. It’s not that friend, family member or church member it’s the devil. In the next few days we will be talking about standing up against the devil. If we can’t stand against him, we will fall into his traps. It is crucial that we not do this. We cannot fight the devil on our own. We must have God’s help. We must be filled with God’s Holy Spirit.

Even during times of peace in our lives or times when we are not going through a spiritual battle, we must be trained and well equipped for battle. We must be strengthened by the Lord’s vast strength and we must put on the Lord’s armor. We will spend the next couple days talking about this armor. Please join us so that you can be prepared for battle.

Have a great day!