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. Eph. 6:12                   

The problems you are having with your husband, your in-laws, your co-workers, and your kids, are not with them. No, they are flesh and blood. The battle is really with powers and principalities, Satan and his demons. You must fight spiritual enemies with spiritual warfare.  (Excerpt from 4 Rules For Fighting Your Enemy, http://www.amountainoffaith.com )

We don’t often think of “powers and principalities” or “Satan and his demons” as the cause of so much distress, calamity and grief.  The article quoted above holds important truths worth meditating upon.

Our faith in God will deepen exponentially as our trust finds deep roots in His sovereignty over everything – including our enemies.  The word of God demonstrates this most profoundly when God Himself lets down a protective hedge, allows the enemy to encroach, and shakes our heart to rise up in faith.  In this way He reveals Himself to us, His faithfulness and power – a great reward indeed.  

The Lord showed this again to me during a long distance drive last weekend…..

Although my husband had repented from a period of backsliding in our marriage, he is plagued by attacks of darkness,  partly due to entanglements with those who practice witchcraft.  I see and experience evidence of this witchcraft.  One minor occurrence he reports happens in his agency truck – hazard lights will go on, A/C will turn on or off on its own, warning lights will flash for no reason.  

It was inconsequential to me until in our own car with our two cats and lots of stuff on that long distance drive….

The A/C went on high and cold.  When I complained to my husband, he insisted, “I didn’t touch it! Maybe this is like my vehicle, things going on and off on their own…”  

“Well”, I drove on, “I don’t care if the A/C, the hazards or anything else flashes on as long as nothing touches the engine or brakes!”

Shortly thereafter, while in a middle lane of a major highway and with 30 miles left to our journey, the car started shaking and jerking.  Bob immediately laid a hand on the dashboard and we both prayed.  The shaking and jerking stopped, occurred again and we continued praying for the Lord to bring us home safely.  

Which He did.

Mechanical? Supernatural?  Intentional or not, our trust must be in the One who claims total ownership of our lives.  We are His “treasured possession”, we “are bought with a price.”    (Deut 7:6, 14:2;  I Corinthians 6:20, 7:23)

Remember that our Lord has paid all the price for us; there is no mortgage or lien upon us; we have therefore no right to give a portion of ourselves to Satan. And he has bought us entirely from head to foot, every power, every passion, and every faculty, all our time, all our goods, all that we call our own, all that makes up ourselves in the largest sense of that term; we are altogether God’s.   Charles Spurgeon, “Bought with a Price” excerpt

Yes, our life is not our own, we are to surrender and offer ourselves as a living sacrifice unto God.  But our Owner takes full responsibility for us, providing, defending, and seeing us through every situation.   

In these end times, may the Lord teach us how to spiritually battle, lead us to dig deep into His word and stand firm behind His living promises to us…..waiting upon Him for the appointed time of victory.