In the past, I’ve always disliked the month of October – all the Halloween decorations as well as the usual increase in demonic warfare that typically occurs. So, I would endure October and eagerly look forward to November and the beginning of the focus on the Holiday season – the celebrations of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. The holidays are my favorite time of the year, particularly because of the focus on giving thanks, celebrating the birth of Jesus and the emphasis on family, friends, and loved ones. However, the Lord convicted my heart this year with a simple question – why are you giving October over to the enemy?
In other words, I had to consider why I had gotten into agreement with the notion of the enemy having a month on my calendar of intense warfare that I just had to endure or survive until November 1st. This isn’t indicated in Scripture, but it is a picture that our society has painted, and many believers have bought into it. The real danger of this mindset is that it puts us in the place of just enduring or suffering until Jesus comes, rather than the Kingdom mindset of being victorious, gaining territory and transforming. Yes, warfare is real, but we have also been promised the victory in every month. So, we should see each battle as an opportunity to defeat our enemy and gain new ground – externally and internally.
As Christians, we are typically in some form of a spiritual battle on a daily basis. In natural warfare, battles are fought on different fronts, for different reasons, and with varying degrees of intensity. The same is true in spiritual warfare—there are consistently battles going on and we are either victors or victims. Jesus has come and conquered and given us the victory, but we have to walk it out.
Matthew 28:18 states, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” We now have the privilege of having an eternal relationship with God this speaks not only to our salvation, but also to our everyday victory, which adds up to victorious living in Christ. Every day victory is achieved by knowing, believing and understanding that you may be in a warfare, but Jesus has already paid the price of your victory and given you tools and weapons to ensure your victory.
If we believe in Jesus Christ, then we believe that He died to conquer the works of the devil to set us free. Yes, there is evil that we fight in our spiritual warfare. But, Jesus has told us that the gates of hell will not prevail against the work that God has purposed for us to accomplish, as His will is being worked out in our lives. There will be opposition. And, the battle is not against flesh and blood but against powers in the heavenly places. The enemy will attack from all angles, hoping to dissuade us from fully living out God’s purpose for our lives. He will use circumstances, events, people, things and even doubt in our own minds to try to defeat us.
The Lord has given us His Spirit who will empower us to overcome but we must be willing to allow Him the authority to be in control of our emotions, behaviors, and thought patterns. Jesus promised us an abundant life that starts here on earth. Until we understand the forces that are against us, and are prepared to fight for what is rightfully ours, we will not be able to receive all that God has for us. We are meant to be victorious in Christ in every battle, because we are more than conquerors through Christ!
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