(Note: I’ve invited Gene Whitehead to write a guest blog for us today. Check out his bio and links below. You’re really, really gonna like his stuff. Trust your Uncle Tony on this one!)
Blame it on the Devil
Some time ago at a church my family and I attended, we were preparing for a special teaching on evangelism. Getting the church outside the walls of the church is something that usually excites me, and I was thrilled with the guest we had coming to help with this teaching.
Setup time had arrived and we had several people buzzing around on various tasks. Chairs were aligned, coffee was brewed and the necessary information was on display. Everything seemed perfect. And then we tested the audio and the video.
Silence.
As the one leading the endeavor, I was a bit frustrated to say the least, but I’ll never forget what our special guest said. “See, the devil doesn’t want us to talk about outreach and evangelism!” Turning to me with a grin, he said, “I know the enemy most likely didn’t cause this problem, but it sure is more fun blaming it on him!”
The truth is, the devil probably did not cause that issue with the sound and video. But he could have.
That’s because in this fallen world, things often work against you and life can just go all kinds of wrong.
And sometimes, there is a cause that you cannot see.
The Seen and the Unseen
The reality is that you and I live in a natural world with natural bodies, but it was all created by a supernatural God who exists outside of time and space.
That means there’s a supernatural element to everything around us, whether or not we acknowledge it.
Of course, the problem with talking like this in our modern, technologically advanced society is that most people have a difficult time accepting what they can’t see. Modern man has a tendency to recognize only that which he can analyze.
We have come to rely on our ability to build, repair, create, and even re-create. At large, mankind today places a lot of weight on what we can see and touch, and very little faith in what we cannot see. But in the cultures of the early church, ideas like atheism simply didn’t exist as we know them.
That’s exactly why we have subjects like spiritual warfare in Scripture. The Apostle Paul touches on the unseen in his writing and teaching throughout the New Testament, but in his letter to the Ephesians, he really unravels some things that can be tough to chew on.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” Ephesians 6:10–11 (ESV)
See there? Paul, in a conversational-style letter acknowledges that there is a devil. And he does so in a very non-startling, unassuming way. And the stuff he unpacks over the next 10 verses is even more astounding. Actually, just the next verse alone is enough to make you stand still!
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 (ESV)
I want to pause on Paul’s extraordinary teaching for a moment with you. In the verses above, Paul has instructed the church in and around Ephesus to “put on the armor of God.” He writes that the purpose of doing so is in order to stand against Satan’s strategies.
Against authoritative, unseen agents of darkness.
A Better Hope
While we won’t get into how to do that in this space, I think it’s valuable to stop here and acknowledge that you do in fact have a supernatural enemy. Just like our guest speaker I mentioned at the start, the devil can’t be blamed for every unpleasant thing that happens, but it’s critical to understand that you most certainly will face trials, temptations, failures, pain, and more.
And some of that junk (and then some) does come from an unseen enemy.
The essential point to grasp onto here is that no matter what the source of your suffering or unpleasantry is, whether it’s supernatural (which by now I trust you agree is possible), or if it’s just life happening, know that there is no better place to put your hope than in the Lord.
Just the natural stuff alone is enough to wrestle and struggle with and against in this life. Throw in the supernatural and we have a serious battle on our hands. Your life with or without Christ will have its share of conflict, but facing the natural andthe supernatural with God’s armor is a much better way to go.
For more on how to put on the armor of God, I invite you to check out my study guide on Ephesians 6:10-20, Preparing for Spiritual Warfare: The Full Armor of God, which offers application and discussion questions and is great resource for personal use, devotions, or for group study.
About Gene:
Gene Whitehead ditched his first career in order to serve people and share hope, serving in full time, cross cultural ministries with his wife in Northern Europe. His passion is to help people embrace Christ and to apply Scripture to daily life in practical ways. You can read about that at genewhitehead.com.
