You Need to Exercise Your Authority 

Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions,
and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
Luke 10:19 ESV

We are in spiritual warfare on a daily basis. Some of us don’t believe it because we only see things from a natural perspective.
But today is a good day to change your perspective. Perhaps you think that the topic of spiritual warfare is too “deep” for you. But, you know what? That doesn’t stop the devil from attacking you. He doesn’t care what you think. His only goal is to “steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10).

Heaven and hell are real places. And Satan, demons, and God’s angels do exist. It is about time that we recognize these facts and begin to gird ourselves up with the armor and weapons that we receive from the Word of God. We can effectively fight— and win— the battle of spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:10).

The battles we fight against evil are manifested through things we can see and feel in the natural realm. For instance, spiritual warfare shows up in the form of frustrations that we deal with in life, as well as through conversations with people whose negative words affect our thoughts.

Then there are the more secret battles which show up in the form of addictions and uncontrolled emotional responses such as anger, or other negative emotions. Whatever the battle, we should recognize that we are not really fighting against people.

Our fight is against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, and against evil spirits in heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). There is good news though: we are destined to win these battles. But we need to know who we are, whom we are fighting, and the place we are fighting from.

Satan may be committed to your destruction, but Jesus came to this earth and died for us so that we may have life and have it more abundantly. Even if we experience these spiritual attacks, Jesus has given us authority over all the power and ability of Satan (Luke 10:19).

The problem though is that we try to deal with the onslaughts of the enemy through only natural means. Approaching them that way only opens the door to defeat. We cannot fight spiritual battles using our natural abilities.

Certainly, there are things we need to do in the natural, but we must not forget the power of our spiritual weapons. We do not have to tolerate the attacks of the enemy because we have been given authority over the works of Satan in our lives. It is because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross that we have been given the authority.

This requires that we open our mouths and start declaring our authority by faith. We can put on boldness and say, “By the authority of Jesus Christ, and through His blood, I command you, Satan, to stop this attack! I command you to stop your manoeuvres through this person or this situation.”

When you know and use your authority, you are acknowledging and establishing your faith by who you are in Christ. You do not have to tolerate trouble. Choose, instead, to exercise your authority by speaking faith-filled words. Deploy your spiritual weapons and authority. When you boldly declare your blood-bought rights, demons and satanic forces will flee. This is the way we fight and win.

 

Today’s Bible Reading:

1 Samuel 9-10; Acts 8