Engaging the Enemy

"Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes."
Ephesians 6:11

There are many people who need a breakthrough. There are all kinds of difficulties; relationships, finances, business woes, and more. So I have been thinking about Christians lately. The people I am referring to are ones who love God. There seems to be an inordinate number of Christians who are going through difficult circumstances. They long for breakthrough, but somehow it eludes them. I know that there is one who is resistant to breakthrough. He is the enemy of our souls, and his desire is still to kill, steal and destroy. So the key for us is to engage the enemy in battle. The key to breakthrough is overcoming the enemy.
    The enemy loves to put roadblocks in our way. He schemes to create ways to stop us from entering into our hopes and dreams. We may be able to hope and dream for what lies on the other side of our breakthrough, but getting there seems almost impossible because we seem to be blocked. So we must engage the enemy rather than cave into his roadblocks. If we settle for where we are, we will miss the great blessing and fulfillment of our dreams.
    We must know who we are. Once we realize that we have absolute authority over the enemy, he will flee. You see, there is not one Christian who does not have more power than the enemy. He has been stripped of his power. He has been cast down and like the wild animal who is falling into the hunte'rs snare, he is clawing to keep himself from the depths of the abyss. But at exactly the same Christ stripped the enemy of his authority, he gave us all authority. So we have been empowered by Christ himself to defeat the devil exactly like he did when he walked the earth. Only now, the heavenly battle has already been won, accomplished  by the work of the cross and the resurrection. We are victors and Satan knows it.
    Still, we must engage him in battle. If we really want the breakthroughs we are seeking, then we must put the devil in his place underneath our feet (Romans 16:20). Too many times, we view spiritual warfare as an uphill battle. We think it isn't possible to really win, but maybe we can keep the damage to a minimum. This kind of mentality dooms us to failure in our Christian walk. the devil is evil and all of us must confront that evil everyday. So pray. Strip the enemy of any power you have given him in your life. Take back anything you have done to agree with his sorcery. It's simple really. We pray and rebuke the devil. We renounce anything we have done to give him a foothold and we appeal to the court of heaven to cancel any contract we have signed with the enemy. The great truth is this: The heavenly court will always rule in our favor because the blood of Jesus has already cancelled the contract and any debt we owe spiritually. We are free.
    Let's make it our mission to engage the enemy in battle instead of standing back and submitting to his schemes. Let's remove the roadblocks he is putting in our way. It doesn't take long, and the battle belongs to the Lord. Like generals in an army, we give the command and the armies of heaven are released to slay the enemy and his plans. Our breakthroughs are coming, the fulfillment of our dreams is already in progress. Brush the enemy aside and walk into the victory. The choice is simple: Stand back and submit to the fear tactics of the enemy, or walk with the authority we have, into the teeth of battle and gain victory. Which will you choose?