There will be plenty of times in your life that things go wrong, you have a bad day, and you’re just discouraged. But what about the times when it doesn’t seem to let up? When it keeps going, every day, consistent discouragement and difficulty. Maybe there is more going on than what meets the eye.

Maybe it is not just a series of difficulties. Maybe, just maybe, you are in a war zone. When the hard times don’t seem to stop, take a step back. Look at how you have acted, the things you have done and the influence for Christ you have made. If you look back and see how much you have been doing for Christ, little or big, maybe even things that don’t seem like a big deal to you, are for the Kingdom of Heaven.

Guess what? Satan doesn’t like it. Or maybe you look back and you’ve just been skating through, or nothing really stands out. It is possible God has something in your path that you don’t’ know about, that Satan wants to stop. He will put things in your path that will discourage you, hurt you, and make you doubt God.

As my mom recently reminded me, he knows where to hit you. I have been there plenty of times, and if you haven’t you may be at some point. It’s not fun, and it really is awful. Your kryptonite is his weapon and he will not hesitate to use it. He will use anything and everything to try to make you falter in your relationship with God. If you falter, or walk away from God, you become less of a threat to Satan. Maybe the reason everything seems to be going wrong, isn’t because you are doing something wrong, it’s because you’re doing something right.

My parents say that to me when I am facing spiritual warfare. So now I am saying it to you. If it feels like you are in a war zone, I recommend Priscilla Shirer’s devotional “The Armor of God.” I also recommend you read Ephesians 6: 10-18. Both of those give amazing perspective on your present situation.

They provide encouragement, and remind you of the weapons you have. If Satan wants to tear you down, don’t let him. With everything in you, fight back. Use the tools given to you to win the battle. It can be so easy to want to give in, and give up. Please don’t have the attitude of quitting. Once I even said out loud the horrible words, “you win.” I was physically tired of fighting. That attitude didn’t last long. If Satan thinks I’m a threat, great.

To me, that’s encouraging. I’m not going down without a fight. As a matter of fact, because of God, I don’t have to go down at all, and neither do you. When our fight is over, we may be exhausted, worn down, and weak, but we will not be defeated. We will be victorious. When bad things happen, instead of saying “why me?”, say “come at me.”

It’s a choice we all have to make when faced with spiritual warfare, I say we choose to win.