During World War II, my grandfather served on a small island in the Pacific called Tinian. In many remote areas, battles continued long after the surrender to Allied forces. These military groups fired real bullets, which led to real casualties. The war was over, but the battles were ongoing.
In the same way, we know God has won the war over sin and death. Satan was defeated at the cross of Calvary when Jesus paid the price for your sin and mine. We fight spiritual battles from victory, not for victory.
When I think about the reality of spiritual forces at work in the unseen realm, it can feel unsettling at times. I don’t want to spend my thoughts, time, and energy on darkness, particularly on the thought of spiritual forces that may or may not be influencing my circumstances. However, Peter, Paul, James and John were key leaders in the early church and writers of New Testament books, whom God used to specifically address what our posture should be toward spiritual enemies.
Awareness of Enemy Tactics
Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, encouraging them to forgive a man who had repented of sin “so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes” (2 Cor. 2:11). Peter also penned a letter reminding believers to “be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). Another church leader, James, echoed these admonitions to “resist the devil” (Jas. 4:7).
Preparing for spiritual battles began with awareness of enemy tactics for the early followers of Jesus. We still fight against these forces today but often struggle against an anti-supernatural bias. Graham Cole, author of Against the Darkness, said it this way: “So many Christians in the West live as though the story of creation involved … just two important characters, God and ourselves. The majority of the world, however, in contrast, has never forgotten that there is another order of intelligent created life playing its role in the story: namely, the angelic order.” We are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, so we want to stay alert. (See Eph. 6:12.)
The Pursuit of Godliness
Paul told the young pastor Timothy to flee from evil desires and pursue right living. Paul wrote, “Flee from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart” (2 Tim. 2:22). Both Greek verbs used in this passage are in the present tense of continuous action. This means we must keep fleeing and keep pursuing — continually. We want to come to our senses and develop clear vision to detect enemy attacks.
Timothy needed to run away from evil desires, but it was necessary to sprint in the right direction. It’s not enough to run away from what’s wrong; we must also run after what is good. We are to flee evil desires and run toward right living, faith, love, and peace. Following Jesus isn’t a passive pursuit. It means lacing up our spiritual sneakers and running away from sin and toward godliness.
Hope in God’s Power
Studying angels initially planted a seed of fear in me. I thought if I studied God in the context of His oversight of angels, I would need to study demons — and that might open me up to some kind of spiritual attack.
Throughout the pages of Scripture, I found those fears to be unfounded. Christ “disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him” (Col. 2:15). John also reminds us, “You have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
We can find hope in the midst of life’s disappointments as we fix our eyes on the God of angel armies who intervenes supernaturally in our natural lives. We want to be aware of enemy tactics, pursue godliness, and then place our hope in God’s power. We will still face daily battles, but we can fight them from a place of victory, knowing our God reigns over heaven and earth.
This article by Melissa Spoelstra originally appeared in the November 2025 edition of Mature Living Magazine.
ANGELS Bible Study
In this 8-session Bible study, join Melissa Spoelstra as she traverses the terrain of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation to learn about angels—who they are, what they do, and what they have to do with you. There’s no reason to fear or ignore what’s happening in the supernatural, unseen realm—we can live with confidence that God is in control of it all. Angels is a call to put your hope in the God of angel armies who reigns over heaven and earth.
