Me, a Wrestler?

In His Name Devotionals
ME, A WRESTLER?

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

The idea of such combat is objectionable to most of us but wait a minute. What does the Scripture say? Read the above Scripture again. There is bound to be a lesson in there for us.

First, the danger against which a Christian wrestles is not of “this world.” The Christian knows that this world “lieth in wickedness” (1 John 5:18). Such information should arm us against its encroachments on our lives in Christ. Yet our conflict arises from forces in league with the world. It may be even within ourselves or our closet associates and like the demons of Gadara, they are many.

Then we must remember they are “mighty.” A little casual Bible reading will illustrate how they have brought down the mighty, strong men have been overthrown. Adam and Eve in the absence of other evil forces were overthrown. Our enemy is invisible. If he was flesh and blood we could escape him, but like pestilence he is the unseen enemy whose strength comes from his craftiness, pictured in the Bible as the “Wiles of the Devil” (Ephesians 6:11), or the “beguiling” of the serpent. We are warned of Satan’s “devices” for as the Bible says, he was a murderer from the beginning.

Like Pharaoh pursuing the children of Israel, he will follow us and that is why we need the protection afforded by the armor of God, in Paul’s further illustration in Ephesians 6. The figures of speech may seem a little confusing, but the message is clear: we are to be wrestlers!