We all fight battles in life, but do we really know who we are fighting?
The truth is, there are two forces at work in the world—good and evil. God is good, and Satan is evil. Since Satan cannot hurt God, he fights against His children—those who have believed in Jesus as their Savior. He hopes to hurt God through hurting us.
You see, your fight is not against people or even with circumstances, but against the devil. First Peter 5:8 says, That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. But here’s the good news—that “someone” doesn’t have to be you! Through studying God’s Word, you can get to know the enemy’s tactics and avoid being deceived and trapped by him.
I am not implying that Satan doesn’t have power. He does, and we should take that fact seriously. But let’s remember that he is not actually a roaring lion—he comes like a roaring lion! Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and Satan can only portray an imitation of what is real and true. The devil is a liar, and he can only harm people who believe him and are deceived by him.
Scripture helps us realize that we are fighting from a vantage point of already having victory, rather than trying to win a victory. The apostle Paul writes, Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us [so much that He died for us] (Romans 8:37 AMP).
Believing what God says about us in His Word and seeing ourselves as He sees us is one way we let Him fight our battles for us. We know before the battles even begin that we have the victory. We may have to walk through some difficulties and stand strong in faith, but we know how the story ends!
And that’s the memo.
By Joyce Meyer
