Dear friends,

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12

All too often, when we look at these verses, there’s a problem. Or rather there are three problems.

First, from our worm’s eye perspective, there’s the scale of the battle, and the size of the protagonists. How can we, as small and puny as we are, possibly engage in a wrestling match with the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual wickedness in high places? The mere thought can overwhelm us. We are undone before we’ve even begun.

This in turn leads to the second problem: we wrestle not. In other words, at the very time when we are called to do so, we are NOT wrestling. If fear triggers flight mode, some will run and hide. Yes, even Christians can hide from hard reality, from the truth. We immerse ourselves in our safe, familiar, everyday activities, hoping that in so-doing we can, in some way, shut out the approaching terror. 

Alternatively, if fight mode kicks, in our agitation, we go for flesh and blood, the people that the enemy is using. But that does not touch the real enemy, the one who is controlling them. Rather we play into his hands, by getting caught up in hate-based conflict with individuals or groups who seem to threaten our safety and security, or the self righteous “narrative” to which we’ve been clinging.

In doing so we forget a basic truth, if we ARE to wrestle, and we most definitely are called to do that, it is not by our own might, not by our own strength, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. We also forget that it’s not about whether God is on our side, but whether we are truly, wholly on his side

So how can we make that shift? How do we begin to see things as our God sees them? How do we access HIS power? We do so principally through prayer and praise, but first by repenting of our failure to fully trust and obey him. There are many examples in the Bible, where God gave his people victory as they turned their attention away from the problem and looked instead to their Provider. It’s not that they ignored the problem, but they chose to confess that God was greater than the problem. 

Our God is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow. He is was and is and always will be Almighty, All-knowing, All-glorious, and All-powerful. We simply don’t have enough words to describe his majesty and glory. As we raise our eyes, our hands and our heart in praise to him, he lifts us up into his presence, and we begin to see him in action. With eyes of faith, we will see principalities and powers bound as he gives us the power to pray in his authority, in the name of Jesus, and by his shed blood. May the scales of doubt and fear fall from our eyes as we remember that the battle belongs to the Lord, and the victory too.

With love in Him,

Sarah

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