My True Enemy

You're both Christians. You love each other. You have made vows that you take very seriously. You believe in being married just once. He's your knight and you're his princess...but you fight and you hurt one another. It just doesn't add up - until you take into consideration another factor: YOUR TRUE ENEMY. Who is your TRUE enemy? It's not your spouse, that's for sure. It's not your children or your neighbor or your boss. It's not even that person that just doesn't seem to like you. No, I've come to realize that I have a sinister, scheming, crafty snake that just won't let up and laughs whenever I hurt someone or am myself in pain. MY TRUE ENEMY IS SATAN.

Believing in God and having Jesus as Lord are the foundations of my life, but if I forget who is warring against me, I can get lost in the battle and become discouraged. I was reminded of these things a while back when our family was on a road trip that lasted over 20 hours. Usually I prepare myself with enough sleep, a good time with God and we pray together for God to bless our trip and keep us safe. But Satan had a different plan. We were so rushed getting everything ready that we didn't stop to put God first, we left exhausted and we forgot to pray. Wow, I will never forget that trip. To say the least, it was pretty awful. What could have been a bonding family time was rife with irritation, unmet expectations, and arguments, not to mention the utter pride and selfishness. Satan had a blast.

Looking back, I was confident in my ability to be a good wife and in my husband's ability to be loving and patient. My confidence was in the wrong place and Satan made the most of the opportunity. I should know by now how weak I am without God's power and that only through Him can I be what I need to be to everyone around me. It motivates me to give even more and be alert knowing what Satan is up to and how much enjoyment he receives from our strife. The following scriptures truly prove the point:

1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

1 John 5:19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

So, I know that there are forces, DARK FORCES at work in our lives, especially if we choose to follow Christ! Check out this one:

Revelation 12:17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.

Bone chilling? He is watching us and preparing for our demise: anything that will make us deny Christ and give up our faith. Will our marriage discourage us? For some, yes, and Satan knows it. So, are we to live in fear and defeat? No! For every scripture about the Evil One, there are a handful more about how to conquer evil, Satan, and even death itself. These give me strength:

James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Romans 8:37-39 ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Peter 3:8-14 ⁸ Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. ⁹ Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. ¹⁰ For,

“Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
and their lips from deceitful speech.
¹¹ They must turn from evil and do good;
they must seek peace and pursue it.
¹² For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

¹³ Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? ¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed.

I could list countless more, but hopefully it's clear what I am trying to say. Good always wins. We might not see it, but in the end it will all be made clear. For now, I can only take it day by day and remember to put my confidence in God and walk closely with him, being careful to obey his commands and love my family, friends and fellow disciples as Jesus would, remembering the battle at hand and keeping watch for my enemy's next move. It's worth it. It works. God's word never fails.