“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12
Spiritual warfare may be unseen, but it’s very much a reality of the Christian life. We need to understand the forces of evil we are fighting against. Dr. Greg Bourgond, president and founder of Heart of a Warrior Ministries, believes one of the reasons why we are susceptible to the influence of the enemy is because we’re oblivious to his tactics.
“His tactics are more subtle than overt, he doesn’t want to draw attention to his schemes to destroy God’s redemptive plans. One of the primary tactics is to continue to remind us of the failures of our past. We get these third person or first person messages and we think that we’re thinking these thoughts, when actually, it’s the enemy sowing them in our mind.”
“He wants to remind us of the failures of our past, whereas God wants to bring us to the victories of our future. It says seven places in Scripture that God casts our sin behind Him; He blots it out. So if we’re constantly reminded of the sin in our life or the failures of our life, where’s it coming from? It’s not from the Lord.”
Dr. Bourgond says it’s important for us to identify the difference between godly convictions of sin and accusations from the enemy.
Another tactic the enemy uses to destroy God’s redemptive plan for our lives is busyness.
“He’s trying to get us to go one mile per hour faster than our designed speed. He knows over time he’ll utterly exhaust us and there will be no margin in our life for the things that matter. Things that may not be urgent but are important. Things like our devotional life, studying the Word of God, our prayer life, things that are going to enrich us, things that are going to build our spiritual core.”
The more we learn about the enemy’s tactics, the better we’ll be able to defend ourselves and claim victory through the power of Jesus Christ. Adhere to this truth: we know the end of the story and the battle has already been won.
Dr. Greg Bourgond serves as a consultant and teacher in the areas of leadership formation and development. He is an adjunct professor for University of Northwestern and Bethel Seminary in St. Paul Minnesota. As President and Founder of Heart of a Warrior Ministries, his ministry is dedicated to helping men live lives of integrity and honor under the authority of God.