Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. —Ephesians 6:10-11.
Many of the struggles in our lives are not mere accidents! Many of them are not put there by God. Our challenges often come from the hand of our enemy, the evil one, the liar and murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). He is always prowling about looking for the best scheme (2 Corinthians 2:11) to knock us down and devour us as he weakens our commitment to and relationship with the Lord Jesus (1 Peter 5:8). We are in a war with this evil one — a struggle not with flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers (Ephesians 6:12). By placing ourselves firmly in the hands of the Lord and using his tools of warfare enables us overcome our enemy in the name of Jesus and by the blood of his cross (Colossians 1:20), because Jesus humiliated the evil one and his minions in the triumph over evil at the cross (Colossians 2:12-15). Be strong in the Lord because the strength is with him.