People may complain life seems like an endless battle, yet this is not a complaint but the truth. Naïve people may also believe they don’t need to fight in this life. They will suffer for this false belief. We have a real enemy, the devil who hates us. If we pretend the battle does not exist, we will be beaten up often. If we admit the battle is real, we can fight it with God’s help but never on our own.
Let’s look at why Satan hates us. First he hated God. Then he saw how much God loves us. Since we are God’s number one delight, Satan decided to hurt us so he could hurt God too. This battle began in the perfect Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve were in their perfect state. Please let that reality sink in. God created what was truly a perfect earth, but God granted Satan permission to walk in the same garden where God placed his first two, perfect people. This means God made humans to battle evil, even while the humans were perfect and while they were in a perfect garden. This may seem to be a contradiction, but remember, God’s garden is perfect, not Satan.
We don’t know why God gave Satan permission to enter this paradise with these two perfect people. We only know God placed them there, and he clearly meant for them to be fighters. For example, when God gave Eve to Adam, she was called his “helper,” (Gen. 2:18.) In the original language (Hebrew) it was not “helper” but “Ezer,” or “military ally.” Ezer occurs 21 times in the Bible, twice in Genesis to refer to the woman. Three times it referred to Israel’s strong military allies, and the other 16 times, it referred to God himself. This woman Ezer is not inferior to the man, since God is not inferior to man. The Ezer is man’s equal partner, as a military ally. This Ezer is not a servant at all, but a fellow fighter, even a rescuer. She was not to fight for the man’s side, but to fight with him. But what is essential here is to see that she is a fighter ally, which means the man was built to be a fighter too. And all of this happened in the perfect garden, while Adam and Eve were still perfect.
Even in a perfect state, humans were built to fight evil. We already know God fights evil. Angels fight evil. But we humans are to do so too, and this is not the sullied work that came after the fall of man when farm work became a thorn infested, sweat-of the brow kind of work (Gen. 3:17-18), and where childbirth became a greatly painful process (Gen. 3:16a). No, this fighting was part of the perfect work in the garden. Remember there was perfect work in the garden too. There was joy and peace for Adam and Eve as they cared for the garden (Gen. 1:26 & Gen.1:28-31.) We know this work was good, because God said he blessed it and it was “very good,” (verse 31.)
We believe Satan had already fallen, and some even think he may have been part of why Gen. 1:2 says, “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Some theologians believe this void darkness was a result of Satan’s evil and his fall and that he somehow caused damage to the earth. We are not sure. But we know Satan had already fallen by Genesis chapter three, because he (as a vile deceiver) entered the Garden with Adam and Eve (while they were together as noted in Gen. 3:6). Adam and Eve were doing the right work as military allies. They were together when their enemy, Satan came, though disguised as a serpent. We do not hear that God warned Adam and Eve there was an enemy (Satan.) Some question why God did not offer this warning. Actually we do not know if he did or did not “verbally” warn Adam and Eve. It is simply not listed as dialogue in the Bible. But we clearly know God told them to not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen.2:17).
Yet Adam and Even cannot say they were “not warned.” How do we know this? Because of Eve’s title as Ezer—military ally. Only someone designated to fight gets this title. And only a guy designated to fight gets to have a military ally (Adam’s wife Eve). Just based upon their titles, they were shown they were built to fight. So they are not justified in surrendering instead of fighting Satan when he came disguised, because they knew God had built them to be fighters. And they knew they had tools. Remember again in Genesis 1:2, The Spirit was hovering over the face of the waters. The Spirit was there on earth. Adam and Eve had the assistance of the Spirit to help them discern evil (in this case the devil disguised as a serpent).
It is urgent that we realize this distinction! Adam and Eve knew they were to be fighters (against evil, not against each other), and knew they had the Spirit’s presence when they were in a perfect world. They fell, despite their titles. We women are still called “Ezer,” even as single gals, not just as wives. Fighting is part of our calling as Christians. And if we, like Adam and Eve, fail to recognize our need to fight, but instead surrender, our lives will always be miserable.
Too often we do not recognize spiritual warfare in our lives and in the lives of those we love. When we do this, we naively surrender to Satan ground that is rightfully ours. Often we do it out of deception. Satan has deceived us into growing weary of fighting against evil, and he has even tricked us into thinking many matters are not spiritual battles, when they are! He deceived us to not believe we can claim God’s promises and that Jesus has claimed the world back for himself. Satan is a defeated foe who still scrounges around, hurting anyone who does not fight back. God wants to wake us up from Satan’s lie.
Now I must say, this is the “No shame, and no blame blog.” I do not shame or blame you if there have been spiritual battles you did not recognize as spiritual. Instead, I am one of YOUR Ezer’s (who says I cannot be an Ezer to other women too—I think God wants us to fight with women too, and not just with men, our cherished brothers in Christ). Yes, I am your military ally, and I am willing to come alongside you and fight with you for your battles. First please know I pray, daily, for my readers, that God would shower you with his Agape Love and His Shalom (peace, fullness of life and more). And today I invite you to learn about some of Satan’s tricks, so you can recognize them and fight them instead of surrendering out of deception, the way Adam and Eve did. I believe you have the power to fight your enemies, because God says so.
Look at Romans 8:37: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” And check out the same verse in the New Living Translation: “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” How do we know we have this power? God says we have it. Check out Ephesians1:19, “I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead.” This is why I can say, with authority, you have power to fight these spiritual battles. I will be praying, heavily over this post too, for you to know this, so Satan does not try to discourage you from believing the truths I am sharing from the Bible.
I should clarify some truths, so you don’t try to claim things God does not give us in our battle. We cannot force anyone to submit to God. “Faith is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast,” (Eph.2:8) does not just mean we cannot boast about our own faith. It also means we cannot pray anyone we love into becoming a Christian. So while we have the power and right to fight for those we love, we cannot force them, even by our prayers to become a Christian. But don’t become discouraged by this. We do have the right to pray against all forces that are trying to deceive them. We have the right to ask God to take away the peace these unbelievers have in their lack of faith. Really there is still so much we can do and claim.
Furthermore, God does not promise us an easy battle. We cannot claim ease of life while we fight, anymore than a soldier in a physical battle can demand ease if she is lobbing bombs and living in a dirty place, dodging the enemy. For example, look at these verses about the difficulties we face: 2Tim3:12, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” and 1Peter4:12a, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” So we cannot claim a life of ease either. We fight, and we work hard, very hard, (1 Timothy 6:12-15, “Fight the good fight of the faith.” and 2 Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought the good fight. I have completed the race. I have kept the faith.” And Psalm 144:1, “Of David. Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle,” and for hard work: Col.3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”)
Now, please don’t let all of this talk about hard spiritual fighting and hard work discourage you. We do not do this on our own, nor in our flesh. We cannot. We need God. And he promises to “fight our battles,” (Deut.3:22.) At this point, I may have confused you. I said you have to fight your battles, yet now I say God fights for you. Remember the Ezer fights alongside her other military allies. So God is fighting, and thus he gives us strength to fight too. Deuteronomy 20:4 says, “For the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.” Next look at Psalm 44:5, “Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.” This verse gives us a hint at how God expects us to fight yet also fights with us—using his name.
We use God’s name, the Holy Spirit’s discernment, and the Scripture to fight. We may know the familiar verse, 2 Corinthians 10:4, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” We use these spiritual tools to spiritually fight Satan. We don’t use our physical skills. We do not argue with people who are lost. We do not shake them to their senses. We listen to them, love them and share briefly about God, if they are open to the Gospel. Sometimes we wait before we share the Gospel until the Spirit gives us discernment to share.
And we don’t nag them about God’s word, since they are dead spiritually. They may not be able to hear us talk about God and understand what we say, if we nag (1 Corinthians 2:14, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”) We cannot nag, because they are blind (2 Corinthians 4:4, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”) So we need to pray (Matthew 9:37-38, “Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’”) By “the harvest,” Jesus meant unbelievers. Only after we have prayed for them (by beseeching the Lord) might we have another open door to share more of the Gospel with them.
And all of this good news is not just about our spiritual battle for unbelievers. This battle is also for the growth and well being of our loved ones and ourselves. God wants us to have a spiritually peaceful and full life, in contrast to Satan’s bad plans for us (no peace, sorrow, strife). I recently memorized John 10:10 “The thief’s purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich, satisfying life.” Even though we have to fight and at times be persecuted by Satan, God still wants us to have joy and peace. Satan tries to steal these qualities from us, since they are God’s promises for us.
Too many Christians live in sorrow and poverty of spirit, without the peace God promised. A friend of mine (we’ll call her Jane Doe) died 2 years ago. “Jane” would not accept my comfort. She became so angry and said, “Life is not so easy.” Yet she used to be such a fighter. She stood up to her own adult daughter when her son-in-law mistreated “Jane’s” granddaughter. She risked (and experienced) alienation from her own daughter to defend her granddaughter. She later helped a struggling friend find a great job, which he still has today. She helped him find a beautiful and affordable place to live. She encouraged a missionary friend and housed him when he visited.
But “Jane” let herself become beaten down by Satan’s lies. She became bitter and complained often. I tried to minister to her, but sadly I did not realize she was suffering from spiritual attacks. I only saw her fatigue and realized she would not even pray with me. During Covid’s shut down, when I could not see her, she developed a type of cancer that is normally not fatal, and is easily treated. But instead she died, not too long after she got it. Later, Cindy, a mutual friend of ours with outstanding spiritual discernment, said she knew “Jane” suffered from demonic attacks. I was so grieved I did not realize this, but even as Cindy explained this, I knew, in my spirit, this was what “Jane” suffered from. Cindy had tried to tell “Jane,” but she refused to listen, even as she had refused to take any of my Spiritual encouragement (about Christ loving us while we suffer family conflicts.)
We can apply these techniques to address the battles that attack a Christian’s peace too. Satan does not want us to know we have a right to feel God’s peace. He will send us bothersome thoughts and make us feel guilty, such as giving us a greedy or lustful thought that is not of our own desires. I shared more about this in my post “Not Finding Peace or Relentless Demonic Attacks?” and I urge you to read about these ploys of Satan. For brevity’s sake, I will not go into those details again here, since I want to discuss the things I did not cover in that post, so please read it. I shared many essential techniques you can use.
I mentioned Satan being a defeated foe. He doesn’t want us to believe that, so we won’t claim God’s promises. I have shared some of those verses, as they apply to our sharing the Gospel with unbelievers and praying for them. But that spiritual warfare also applies to our right to claim God’s peace in our own lives, such as this one from 2Tim1:7, “For God did not give you a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.” This verse does not work unless we boldly claim it. When Satan comes and stirs us up, whether with angry, lustful, greedy or fearful thoughts, we must boldly say this verse and others like it OUTLOUD. We need to firmly claim it every time an intrusive thought tries to enter our minds. Satan wants us to give up. Initially, he will make things much harder, when we speak against the lies that spin in our heads. I know, because someone I love was suffering from severe spiritual attacks for a few months. She did not understand, but I did, and I spoke against Satan’s powers. I read specific Bible verses and claimed them for this person I love so dearly. Things got much worse during a span of a few days, but I kept praying and also enlisted prayer support of people who know and love her. We all lifted her up, and in our case, less than a week later, she began to have relief. She could think more clearly again, and read her Bible again. Her joy began to return. Like a person with a wounded leg, she did not instantly become fully better. But she received her peace and joy back and kept on getting better.
Please don’t be scared to hear things can get worse before they get better. If we are not forewarned, we may give up, mistakenly thinking we made a mistake by following God’s plan to fight. Remember Pharaoh made things worse for the Israelites when Moses first told Pharaoh to let God’s people go (from the 5th chapter of Exodus.) Eventually things got much better, and the Israelites did get free from this wicked Pharaoh. Remember Satan has been defeated. He cannot keep our minds in fear and confusion forever. We can find mental peace and joy. Satan will keep stirring us up, and this is neither our fault nor a sign of weakness or sin in us. He keeps trying, but we can keep thwarting him. The key to remember is that Satan will keep trying, but we can keep succeeding in blocking him and remaining peaceful.
Jesus said, “Here on earth you will have many sorrows and troubles, but take heart, for I have overcome the world,” John 16:33. Jesus wants us to know he is the victor. Satan wants us to forget that, and often I do forget. Over the span of two days there were issues with my husband filing our taxes and our not having the correct pin (a special number). My husband gets stressed easily, and then I fall into it too. I allowed myself to become stressed out. Then I became forgetful and began to make mistakes and became irritable with my daughters (Amy and Lindsey). Eventually I got locked out of my IRS account login for 24 hours (I kept trying to login.) It was a blessing from God, because I calmed down and realized I had been duped by Satan. I had lost my peace and joy, gotten irritable with my girls and gave in to critically angry thoughts.
If I had recognized the stress the minute it hit, I could have prayed against it. But I let myself feel the stress for two days. Feeling stressed is one of my huge weaknesses (especially if I am with a stressful person.) Satan knows this and uses it against me. As a result, the strategy I must employ is to pray before I attempt to do or access any situation where I know I’ll feel stressed. Taxes and IRS certainly count as my stressors. Phils.4:6 says, “In everything, with prayer and supplication. Let your requests be made known to the Lord,” and it admonishes me to pray in EVERY situation, not just some times.
Daniel prayed three times per day. This sounds like a religious ritual, but Daniel was one of the few men in the Bible who was called “Beloved” (Daniel 10:11.) If I chose my three meals and specifically checked in with God, even if just briefly, I would catch myself when I was stressing out. Yes, I do pray during the day. I cherish Christian radio when I’m doing chores. Yet I could choose those three times during the day to say, “Lord I commit this time to you. Please keep my mind clear, and warn me when Satan tries to distract me.” This would enable me to see when Satan was stirring me up and stop him from feeding my flesh, which I need to rebuke it. It fights against the spirit of God in me—the kind, patient me I want to be. Paul described it like this, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do,” (Romans7:20.)
Being aware that Satan wants to attack us and use our weaknesses is a huge part of our strategy. We cannot underestimate the power of being aware. We must change our mindset and instead believe Satan will attack us often. He will be subtle. We need to be aware of all our weak areas. In these places, we need extra protection.
Whether we choose to “pray three times at a specific time per day,” or post Bible verses or other notes (in our home, work place and car), we need to increase our awareness. The spiritual battle begins in our minds. Then it can move to our feelings and then to our words and actions.
I know some women feel sad to think this battle is ongoing, but we cannot give in to denial or fear. We’ll have rest from our battles in heaven, because Satan was thrown out of heaven (Rev. 12:8.) So we know these battles won’t last forever. And Jesus does promise to fight with us and to give us encouragement and peace now. Part of our battle is overcoming the lie and denial that the Christian life should be easier than it is. Accepting the truth that we will ALWAYS battle Satan will actually set us free, because Jesus promised the truth would set us free (John 8:32.) Then our fight won’t be as hard, because we don’t battle our denial, but instead we can be alert and ready to fight Satan (1Peter5:8, “Be alert and sober of mind. Your enemy, the devil prowls like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”)
So please don’t fear Satan but also don’t ignore him. Don’t get beaten down by the truth we will have a spiritual battle every day. I promise that if you accept this truth and remain alert, God will fight this battle with you, and when you are exhausted, even fight it for you. He has already defeated Satan, but Satan is a liar who wants to trick us into not believing God’s peace is available for our minds. Truly we can rejoice in the Lord, despite this battle. We are strong, and we can do it!
I pray we have encouraged you but also strengthened you to battle Satan’s fiery darts as he throws them at you. You are stronger than you think, and God thinks so too, my dear and fellow “Ezer!”