“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11
This fall the ladies of Sacred Story are standing firm together. We are standing firm in our marriages, in our family, in our neighborhoods, in our spheres of influence. We are standing firm in a strength that is greater than our own, holding fast to the true identities our Creator gave to us, and walking confidently in the peace that overpowers all chaos. Will you join us?
When I was a teenager I had overwhelming conflict with my mother. We loved each other deeply, but we could not get past Tuesday night without a knock down, drag out fight over insignificant topics that escalated to what felt beyond our control.
Have you ever felt overwhelming opposition, overwhelming conflict or overwhelming animosity?
Have you lost hope in a situation that seems beyond your control?
These are indicators of the schemes of the devil.
I don’t know about you, but when I hear someone is scheming against my family, my close friends, my people, intentionally plotting for my demise and our disunity, I get revved up.
This is how I felt when I realized the schemes of the devil were controlling my relationship with my mom. Our conflict felt overwhelming and out of control, unending even. That’s when we realized we were under spiritual attack. We were in ministry together at the time, running after lost souls for Christ’s Kingdom, and the enemy wanted nothing more than for us to mutually destruct ourselves. So, we told Satan his time was up running our relationship.
There is an unseen world around us, one just beyond our earthy eyesight. One with an enemy that seeks to paralyze you, but one with a Savior who stands in supreme victory. He is undeterred and unfettered by the enemy.
My mom and I started standing firm in Christ, together. We practiced standing firm in our God-given identities when conflict came up, which it continued to do. When you start putting on the armor of God, start focusing on the true enemy, often the Devil fights back harder. But he cannot and will not win.
My mom and I started believing in the power of God and practiced putting on the armor of God together: believing the truth that Satan is the real enemy, not each other, resisting accusing one another through righteousness, restoring peace quickly through forgiveness, resisting being hurt by flaming arrows in conversation, remembering we are both redeemed from our former selves, and praying in the Spirit for the redemption of our relationship. And Christ brought resounding, restoring victory, beyond what I could have imagined.
I echo Elisha’s prayer in 2 Kings 6:16 this morning, that the Lord will open your eyes to see his victory and power is with you today in ways we cannot comprehend. Our real enemy is the devil, not flesh and blood, and we can resist his schemes in every battle we face through prayer and putting on spiritual armor. You are surrounded by victory in the name of Jesus against the real enemy. Put on your armor today, for He is with you!
In Him,
Emma Abernathy
