Anyone who has been called by God to do a great thing for the Kingdom of Heaven better get ready for a battle, because Satan will try his hardest to shake you and make you second guess yourself. He will try to find that spot in you that you think is strongest to make it weak. He will try to find that place where you feel peace and joy and bring it sorrow and grief. Whatever he can do to derail the Lord's plans for you, he will attempt. Sadly, oftentimes, he succeeds.
I have a friend going through a spiritual battle. And I'm not even sure he knows its a spiritual battle as of yet. He is doing great things for the Father, bringing so many of God's children in a closer relationship with Him. So as a result, he is going through many trials of late: physical, emotional and vocational. It's not fair, all he's going through. But I'm not surprised. If I were Satan, I would be working extra hard to try to stop him, too.
Reading "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis is a fictional account about how Satan's army of demons can work on unsuspecting humans. It's eye-opening to anyone who doesn't think these battles take place in an unseen world. But Scripture backs it up. In Daniel 10, we see a weary Daniel waiting weeks for the answer to a prayer. When an angel finally shows up with the answer, he explains he was late because he was doing a spiritual battle and couldn't get away until the archangel Michael showed up to help. In 2 Kings 6 we see Elisha begging God to open the eyes of his attendant who was fearful of an attacking Aramean army. When the attendant feared the worst, Elisha said, "Do not be afraid for there are more with us than there are with them." After Elisha's prayer, the attendant saw the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. This was a spiritual battle.
James tells us to "consider it nothing but joy" when we face trials of any kind for the testing produces endurance, maturing us in the faith (vs. 2-4). When you're in the midst of these trials, it sure is hard to find joy. But perhaps there is joy in this: if you are going through some ugly right now that just doesn't seem to make sense or is almost overbearing, it could be you are doing something so wonderful for God that Satan's just working extra hard on you. Check out Job's story for example. Glory to God! You must be doing a good job, or Satan wouldn't be wasting his time.
Persevere, saints. Don't give up. Keep praying. Keep reciting Scripture. Keep glorifying God. We know the victory is already won ... and already His.
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