Even as we read verses about invisible spiritual warfare, we have trouble connecting it with our lives. Often, we see wars in the news, and we think, "Sorry, I'm just not experiencing that." Yet here's what we're missing: this is an invisible war, fought according to spiritual principles. As 2 Corinthians 10:4 reminds us:
"The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh."
For example, one of my favorite biblical illustrations comes from 2 Kings 6:8-17. Whenever the King of Syria planned to attack Israel, Elisha kept tipping off the king of Israel. The King of Syria eventually discovered what was happening and sent thousands of troops to surround Elisha.
When Elisha's servant saw the army, he panicked, saying, "Oh no, my lord, what shall we do?"
Immediately, Elisha reassured him: "Don't be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Then Elisha prayed, "Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see." Suddenly, the servant saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Truly, what a picture! All the time, it happens—we just don't get to see it. There are good angels and bad angels around us constantly, and there's a battle going on that we can't normally perceive.
Accordingly, Ephesians 6:12 makes this clear:
"We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against rulers, authorities, cosmic powers over this present darkness, and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."
These spirit beings are invisible. Not only that, their attacks are invisible too.
Likewise, Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. He hides his true nature. If Satan walked through the door right now, we wouldn't recognize him because he'd look beautiful. In fact, here's the thing about deception: we don't know when we're deceived. Eve believed that eating the fruit would make her wise.
Similarly, think about germs. We all believe in germs. We’ve grown to accept that invisible microorganisms can affect us dramatically. During coronavirus, we wore masks, sat far apart, and changed our entire way of living because of something we couldn't see. Thus, we accepted the reality of an invisible threat and took appropriate precautions.
Consequently, the invisible nature of this war makes it challenging, but not impossible, to recognize. Often, our spiritual enemies leave what I call "spiritual fingerprints"—signs and patterns we can learn to detect. Thankfully, God hasn't left us helpless or clueless about it. Just as we learned to recognize and respond to invisible germs, we can learn to recognize and respond to invisible spiritual attacks.
Imagine living with your eyes truly open to the spiritual reality around you—seeing the battle for what it is, recognizing the forces at work, and knowing you're not alone in the fight. That’s where this journey leads us. Ultimately, the goal is to recognize the forces for us and against us, so we can win the war. Join us.
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