There’s a battle raging all around us every day. Good and evil are in a constant battle to win the hearts and minds of all of us. In addition to the external battle, this battle also rages inside each of us. Those who have turned their back on God have been overwhelmed by the enemy. Those of us who have trusted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior are still in the fight; we are not immune. We have the tools to win, however, the battle rages on as the enemy launches a continuous bombardment of doubts and fears.
“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 (NASB)
Jesus described the battle between good and evil as a battle for the kingdom of heaven. In the parable of the tares and wheat, Jesus painted a picture of his followers being infiltrated by evil forces that would attempt to destroy believers by interfering with their growth in the Lord.
“Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.” Matthew 13:24-25 (NASB)
Jesus explained that evil forces sent by the devil would mingle among his followers in an attempt to disrupt their faith. Of course, all followers of Jesus are empowered by the Holy Spirit; and in the end, the evil ones will be destroyed and all believers will be saved to live an eternal life in the kingdom of heaven; but for now, the battle rages on.
“His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.” Matthew 13:36-39 (NASB)
The devil is real and his destructive infiltration into our lives is an insidious challenge that we have to meet head-on every single day. Make no mistake about it, our enemy has developed a diabolical scheme to slowly chip away at our faith and interrupt our walk with God. He typically doesn’t come at us all at once, but slowly and incrementally, so that we may not even notice his destructive ways. We have to be careful not to let him have his way. If we open the door a crack, he will push his way in further. Put on your armor of God (Ephesians 6:13-17) and stand strong.
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