Will the Real Foe Step Forward

In the face of adversity, it can be easy to fix our eyes on someone or something, especially when it seems there is a personal assault upon our lives or character. But choosing to wrestle with our earthly adversaries without first doing battle in the heavenly realms is a mistake believers often make.  All believers have a common enemy. And he often uses the ungodly to rise up against us. He has also been known to use and influence earthly situations in ways that will hinder our spiritual growth or the success of our efforts to minister to others. But we must keep our eyes fixed on God. We must keep our hearts in humility, seeking HIS will rather than our own, which would sometimes lead us to grasp for, or chase after things in our own power. It is God who will establish us. It is God who will give us the victory. We must remember that in our own strength and by our own will we will not succeed. So instead we pray...and put on the armor of God...and commit our ways to Him. He will direct our paths. He will. Ephesians 6:12 "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." Knowing who the real enemy is, enables us to confront him with the proper perspective.  God has given us the the victory.  And it is He who holds the power of our enemy in check.  It's no different than it was for the Israelites.  The Servants of God need not fear Him as the wicked do.  We are not left to chance or to wicked schemes. Isaiah 54:15-17 "'If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me; whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you.  Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy; no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.  This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me,' declares the LORD.” The Lord holds all the power. And the Enemy, though he is given a temporary and limited rule, is subject to God's sovereignty. We need not wrestle with those who seem to be in his clutches. In stead, we wrestle with the powers that bolster them, but we do so in God's strength and power, not in our own. And we trust that God holds those powers in check, and has the victory over them.   Our struggles are not so much about us as they are about Satan's vendetta with God, to crush and ruin all things beautiful and good. Though Satan would destroy us, God has redeemed us. Though Satan would kill, God has given us life through His Son.  Those who work to destroy, are acting in the strength of the Enemy who has been rendered powerless in Christ Jesus.