“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.” — Ephesians 6:12

On Wednesday morning, September 10, 2025, this was the verse upon which my heart and mind was meditating. My practice, in recent weeks, has been taking passages slowly, verse by verse, contemplating them, researching them in their original languages, and it just so happened to be the one I had come to next in my daily study. Our God is not a God of accidents or happenstance. He is sovereign, and He is King. As I read through some of the original definitions for powers of darkness, evil, and spiritual forces, the common theme within the definitions was Satan and his demons–pure evil.

As followers of Christ, we often fall into varying schools of thought concerning spiritual warfare and the impact of Satan and his minions in our daily lives. Some may give the enemy too much credit, while lacking accountability and our own inherent sin nature. Others dismiss the concept and idea of spiritual warfare altogether, deeming it a non-issue in the matters of everyday life. Both mindsets contain risk. As Christians, we are too confess and repent of our sins and take accountability for actions: “The devil made me do it” is no excuse or confession. Yet, when we discount the work of Satan and his demons, we are vulnerable to his attacks.

Paul calls for Christ-followers to put on the armor of God and stand firm (Eph. 6:11-14). Why does anyone who is not in battle need armor? Short answer:they do not! Thus, we arrive at the very real conclusion that there is a war going on in the spiritual realm all around us. Satan’s goal for Christians is to derail them from the work of the Lord, render them useless, ruin their testimony, and any other thing that will prevent the kingdom of God from being unleashed and furthered on planet Earth. Satan is a defeated foe, and he knows his time is running short. He is strategically frantic to move Christians out of the way, for he wants no one to follow Christ and become a citizen of heaven.

And his goal for unbelievers is for them to remain that way until their final breath. I once heard it said that anything Jesus does, Satan attempts to counterfeit. Just as God has a plan for our lives, Satan does as well–destroy, accuse, lie, steal. Do not underestimate the tactics of the enemy. While he is often portrayed as the little red devil sitting on your shoulder, that is not ever his approach. Your enemy does not announce his arrival. Instead, he looks for ways to penetrate the fortress. He wants to attack weak areas that have little or no defense. And he does it slyly, carefully, and alluringly.

Thus, Peter tells us this: “Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Make no mistake, he is a prowling lion on the hunt with the goal of devouring. In any military endeavor, the way to victory is to know your enemy. Followers of Christ in spiritual battles are no different: know thy enemy. Jesus Himself tells us this about Satan in John 8:44: “You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and a father of lies.” (Emphasis added is mine.) In 2 Corinthians 2:11, Paul references not being ignorant of Satan’s schemes in order to not be taken advantage of by him.

What does this teach us about our enemy? 1) We are in a spiritual battle, and our enemy is out for blood and death. 2) Satan is a master manipulator and schemer, yet is subtle in his ways. 3) Satan is a liar and a murderer. 4) The enemy of our souls is always on the hunt and on the prowl.

How, then, do we protect ourselves against this known enemy and be victorious? Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:10-18 to put on our battle gear and stand FIRM: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet sandaled with the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit (God’s Word), and prayer. These are our weapons! In order to identify Satan’s lies and schemes, we must also know the truth and live the truth. We must stand firm in our faith and hit our knees in prayer. In 2 Corinthians 10:3-4a Paul reminds us of this truth: “For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds.” We are not alone in our battles. Jesus already won the war, the most Satan can do is attempt to win battles and victories along the way. Death is defeated. Jesus is victorious! He empowers His followers with His Spirit to be victorious as well.

As the events of Wednesday, 9/10/25, unfolded, and the nation watched and learned of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, God in His grace brought to mind my morning meditation: our enemy is not against flesh and blood, but against Satan and his demons and spiritual forces of darkness. Yet what I witnessed all around was the blaming, the finger-pointing, the division, and the devastation. Meanwhile, Satan was kicked back enjoying the spoils of his victory because no one was looking at him as the culprit behind the evil. He enjoys creating heartache and havoc and then having mankind turn on one another and destroy each other. Satan celebrated, men and women wept, and division and hatred escalated.

What is our role as followers of Christ amidst the devastation, heartbreak, and spiritual warfare? We are called to stand firm, to fight, to be light in the darkness, to forgive, and to pray. God’s heart is grieved by the brokenness of mankind and the human race; that is why He sent Jesus to heal, to redeem, to forgive, to restore. Our mission is to spread the gospel, even when it is unpopular, even when it results in persecution, because our eternity is secure in heaven with Him. What do we have to lose? Fight well. Fight hard. Fight with the weapons of God. Fight with faith. Fight on our knees. The victory is won!