Key Scripture:

“A time for war, and a time for peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:8b

Devotional:

Let’s paint a picture. Today, when you woke up in the morning, let’s say you were in a happy mood. You had a pleasant breakfast and a peaceful morning while you prepared to head to work. As you jumped in the car, maybe you listened to a podcast on the way to work or, if you’re more of a music type of person, your favorite album. The day couldn’t have had a better start. However, while on your way to work, you encounter some really bad traffic and begin to feel yourself getting agitated. Once you finally arrive at work, you realize you are 20 minutes late, which bothers you because you have too much to do today. 

As your day goes on and you continue to fall more and more behind, you find yourself continuing to become more and more agitated. On top of the already stressful day, a coworker didn’t do his job, which put added responsibility on you. By the end of the day, you’re ready to punch a hole through the wall. Let me ask you this question: Do you know you’re in a war?

The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 5:8-9 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”

In that (probably) completely fictional scenario, you must realize that our “adversary the devil” can use all of those inconveniences of daily life to rob us of enjoying the abundant life Jesus died for us to have.

What about your dating relationships? Another hypothetical example may be that you are single but hope to one day be married. You might spend considerable mental energy thinking about what being married will be like. Maybe you fantasize about the kind of partner you’ll have, the kind of life you’ll live together, etc. You begin to wonder, “Is he the one?” or “Is she the one?” about every other single person that you meet. Maybe you begin to lust after people in your life. You begin to engage in a sexual relationship outside of marriage, hoping that person will meet the need that you’re feeling. I ask again: Do you know you’re in a war?

You see, the enemy can even use our desire for something good to try to get us to take a shortcut, a sinful way, instead of choosing the abundant life that comes from trusting God’s way. John 10:10 teaches us “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I [Jesus] came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” You do have an enemy who wants to rob you of God’s best for you, and you are in a war. So where do we go from here?

Second Corinthians 10:4 tells us “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” and in Ephesians 6, we read that the truth in the Word of God is the weapon we are given to fight the enemy’s lies. I encourage you now to begin learning the Word of God. Learn what God says about the situations, temptations and relationships you are in. I warn you – being confronted with God’s truth is not comfortable to our sin nature, but choosing to walk in God’s way is ALWAYS better in the end. And when we choose God’s way, the peace of God always flows from our obedience to Him.

Deepening questions:

• In which area(s) of your life is your sin nature being confronted by the truth of God’s Word?
• What is one scripture that you can memorize this week to begin getting God’s Word into you?

Further reading:

Ephesians 6:10-18, Galatians 5:16-26