by Jonathan Dirmann
What does it say?
Ephesians 6:10-13 (NKJV) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.13 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.
What does it mean?
This portion in Ephesians says something absolutely essential for us to catch if we want to see real progress in our lives. It says that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age…” In other words, there are many things that you’re wrestling with in your life that you may think is simply just a difficult person, a bad relationship, or someone/something getting in your way…but it’s more than that! Often times the things that we think are just a natural hardship or tough reality are actually spiritual powers of darkness rising up against us. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe this means everything that isn’t good is of the devil. Sometimes, we stub our toe on the bed, without it meaning that the enemy put the bed there. However, while it’s true that not everything that comes against us is of the devil, Ephesians is pointing out that many, many things that we wrestle with are actually rulers of darkness coming up against us. If we want to experience true breakthrough and deliverance, the first thing we need to do is recognize what (or who) we are up against. Once we recognize that, we can properly use the weapons and tools that the word gives us to combat those spiritual powers and ultimately receive true breakthrough.
What does it mean to us?
The understanding that we wrestle not in flesh and blood, but in spiritual warfare, should deeply affect the way we go about fighting our battles. Instead of going about our battles in the flesh (trying to get it done on our own), we need to go about them in the Spirit. We pray, we fast, we intercede, we declare, we run to the word, we worship, etc. Knowing your enemy is one of the first and most important components to winning a battle.
Response
Now that we recognize that we’re fighting spiritual darkness rather than just flesh and blood, what should we do differently? Have you been fighting the right battles? Or have you been fighting things in the flesh? Take a moment to reflect and pray. Ask God for wisdom and strategy on how to spiritually win the battles that you’re in.