Our issue is not with people. Sure, life is lived in the realm of humanity. In that realm, words are shared, and events are experienced. People will inflict pain, and most of the struggles usually have a person’s name attached. But…our real battles, the deep issues of our spiritual skirmishes, are not “against flesh and blood.” Here’s how Paul says it.

Ephesians 6:12-13
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Satan does not lob missiles from a distance. Our struggle with him is up close and personal. It is hand-to-hand combat. Satan is not omniscient. He cannot read our minds. However, he has been studying the human condition for thousands of years. He is a master in the art of temptation. He and his demons can make a “well-educated guess as to what we are thinking and then attempt to use to their advantage.”[1] He does not attack us one time; his attacks take place one at a time. The present tense of the verb “wrestle” describes an ongoing struggle.

Our ongoing hand-to-hand combat is “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” These describe the levels of demonic authority. Our spiritual battle is against spiritual forces in the heavenly places. That is why Paul says we must, “take up the whole armor of God, that [we] may be able to withstand the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”

Being in a wrestling match with the forces of Satan sounds overwhelming to me. But remember, we are not fighting alone. We are fighting with the One who has already won the victory. Here is our battle cry:

1. Jesus is sovereign over all creation (Colossians 1:16).
2. God has “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them” with Jesus’ victory on the cross (Colossians 2:15).
3. God has put all the levels of spiritual authorities in subjection to Jesus (Ephesians 1:21; 1 Peter 3:22).
4. Nothing can separate us from God’s love secured by Jesus at the cross. Not even all the levels of evil forces in the spiritual realm (Romans 8:38-39).

Jesus makes us battle ready! He provides us with the whole armor of God so that in our hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, we will stand firm.

Father,
Help me put on your armor every day. Don’t let me go into battle unprotected. Keep me close to the One who fights my battles. Remind me often that the enemy, though powerful and aggressive, has been defeated by Jesus at the cross. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

[1] https://www.gotquestions.org/Satan-read-minds.html.