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Spiritual Warfare is Real, is Here, and is Now
Spiritual warfare is the ongoing battle between the forces of good and evil. It’s not a physical conflict but a struggle against spiritual powers that affect individuals and the world, impacting thoughts, emotions, and circumstances.
“Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
Ephesians 6:10-11
The forces of evil were unleashed long ago, not by God Himself, but by His beloved creatures. By an act of free will, they rejected God, His plan, and His creation.
They refused obedience and submission to His will. They opted to exist apart from God. And that means eternal death.
Corrupted by envy and bent on destruction, these fallen beings set their fangs on God’s innocent children, infiltrated the garden, and planted ugly seeds of mistrust and disobedience.
“How are you fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How are you cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God’.”
Isaiah 14:12-13
By another act of free will, humans severed the wholesome relationship with God. His loving plan for creation was forfeited. Now, they would wander, toil, suffer, and die.
The Evil One and his minions seeped into the broken hearts and souls of men. They brought despair, sorrow, pain, everything they knew, everything they became, apart from God’s life and light.
But God will always have the last word. And from the moment the relationship was broken by His children, He’s never stopped trying to set things in motion to bring us back home.
Adam and Eve sought to satisfy their own will over God’s. With their choice, they lost paradise and inflicted harm and hardship on themselves. They also set loose the dark spirits that torment us.
“For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Ephesians 6:12
We are fighting an enemy we cannot see, although we see his rotten fruit. The shadows of this world take root in our hearts and souls, in our minds and bodies.
- Temptations that pull us into disorderly directions.
- Pride that makes us question God and believe we can supplant Him or do without Him.
- Doubts that cloud minds, make us indecisive, and in the worst-case scenario, leave us paralyzed.
- Fears that consume us and weigh our hearts and souls down with distress and despair.
These manifest in many ways: physical aches and pains, anxiety, panic, depression, emotional manipulation, self-harm, and violence towards others, to mention a few.
“Stand therefore, having fastened the belt of truth around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace.”
Ephesians 6: 14-15
Spiritual Warfare is a Trial for Our Souls
The Evil One works in the physical world, but he cares nothing about our bodies. He is after our souls.
The LORD cares for both, because He made us, body and soul, to inhabit and thrive in the physical world, and be renewed in the spiritual world through Him.
“Cast all your anxieties on Him, for He cares about you.”
1 Peter 5:7
Amid spiritual warfare, we are being tested and strengthened.
The Evil One is trying and testing us, and at the same time, God is strengthening and loving us. The Evil One wants to break us apart; God wants to pull us back to Him.
Back to wholeness and fullness. Back to His presence and peace.
Our Weapons for War
We have the tools. They were patiently given and lovingly shown to us by Jesus, and reiterated by the Apostles, the first disciples, martyrs, and saints, as they faced their greatest battles.
“For though we live in the world, we are not carrying on a worldly war, for the weapons of our warfare are not worldly but have divine power to destroy strongholds.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-4
Prayer: When the mind gets overwhelmed by anxiety, fear, and panic, when it’s weighted down by sorrow, grief, shame, and guilt, the Lord taught us to pray.
Praying the Our Father, the Hail Mary, meditating on the life of Jesus, or contemplating the mysteries of our faith while praying with the Rosary. Reading from Scripture, or focusing on a particular Psalm or Proverb. All these activities have the power to recenter our minds, our hearts, and our gaze toward God.
When we pray, we offer up our suffering and ask for assistance.
We ask Jesus to help us carry our cross. Mary and the saints for their invaluable intercession. Our guardian angel for his faithful watch over us. We ask St. Michael to keep up the fight for the protection of all souls. We ask God for peace.
Fasting: We can prepare for battle by doing something that goes against the very reason at the core of the evil one’s break from God, self-denial, or the ability to give up our most basic desires and the drive for the fulfillment of our will.
Needs, wants, goals, and desires are not “bad” in themselves. It’s when they take control, become obsessive or harmful, that they become sins, and therefore, the weapon of the enemy.
When we fast from the things that threaten to take over control of our minds, bodies, and souls, we are taking a stand, refusing to bend to the will of the enemy.
Fasting, as a form of self-mortification, teaches us patience, self-control, fortitude, surrender, and child-like dependence on God.
“No weapon that is fashioned against you shall prosper.”
Isaiah 54:17
Charity: Acts of mercy, acts of service take us out of ourselves. They move us from “navel-gazing” worries and concerns, and the feeling of anxiety and dread, by focusing on things we can do, and actions we can take to help and heal others.
Giving others our time, energy, attention, talents, and gifts fills our hearts with purpose and meaning.
When, instead of putting ourselves down and pulling others with us into a pit of despair, we push people up and serve them selflessly, we nestle right inside God’s Love, and there, no shadow of the enemy can reach us.
God created us to worship Him. Worship means serving, and we serve God by serving others. Acts of service also place us in direct opposition to the enemy, which rejected worshiping God and serving the good of His creation.
Thanksgiving: The evil one lost all connection with Love and all understanding of gratitude. Getting in touch with gratitude and manifesting a deep appreciation of the gifts we’ve received becomes a shield against the enemy’s intentions.
He wants to drag us into ingratitude and ungratefulness. He wants us to see only what might be lacking in our lives, and be tangled up in the comparison game, jealousy, and envy.
We were created to praise the LORD. Praise Him in the midst of joys and sufferings. Praise Him in the midst of battle. By this, we show the enemy where our loyalty lies.
Communion: Consuming the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist is a source of strength and everlasting life.
By our participation in this act of remembrance with an open heart, we are being transformed, like the bread and wine. With His eternal sacrifice, Jesus is continually feeding our souls.
In the midst of spiritual warfare, strong souls, nourished by the power of Jesus’s body, blood, soul, and divinity, will win.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.”
John 6:53-54
God Is in the Fight
Every challenging situation, internal or external struggle we might face, becomes more difficult and seems insurmountable when we keep hanging on to the illusion of self-reliance.
We can’t fight this battle alone, and we are not meant to. That’s another lie from the enemy. Ever since the first fall of humanity, God has been fighting with us and for us.
Let Him fight for you. That doesn’t mean giving up. It means accepting your limitations and leaning on His Love for you, His will, His Spirit, His Church, and His Word.
Holy Spirit: At our baptism, we were given the grace of the Holy Spirit. We are sons and daughters of God. As His children, we have His complete Love and support; He’s got our backs.
What God asks from us is trust. For His ways are not our ways.*
Our souls are protected by the power of God; even though they might get hit and get bruised, they will overcome.
Holy Church: We belong to the body of Christ, a body that faced unimaginable trials, cruelty, humiliation, suffering, deep physical and emotional wounds, and survived.
Christ on the cross showed the way. Later, His Apostles, disciples, early church fathers, martyrs, and saints also persevered against the forces of evil. They serve as witnesses.
Together, as a church, we are made stronger.
Holy Scripture: We have the Word. The weapon used so effectively by Jesus Himself against the Evil One in his attempt to overpower Jesus and destroy God’s plan of salvation.
We can also disarm the enemy with the Word of God. And by the Word of God, we can stand strong and courageous. In this world, evil may seem to be winning. It’s not. The illusion gives the evil one the false sense of superiority it craves.
He’s already lost. This world has been redeemed. The hearts and souls of all the faithful belong only to God.
The spiritual warfare in this world is the enemy’s feeble attempt to undermine God’s victory, to try and fool us again and again. And again and again, God will stand with us. The game is up.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me.”
Psalm 23:4
Don’t give up, don’t feel defeated. There’ll be good days, and bad days, daily battles won and lost. Wounds, scars, and healing.
You have the spiritual weapons. You have Jesus always at your side. Amid spiritual warfare, be ready to step up, step down, and let your heart be guided. Remember His words. Do not be afraid.
*Isaiah 55:8-9
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