Observation: As Jesus casts out demons from people, they come out declaring that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God. This is something they - demons - know for certain, that the human man standing before them is actually the son of God, who carries the authority of the Lord in him, and thus whom they must comply with when he orders them to depart. The demons know this not because they recognize the human Jesus, but because they recognize the spirit of the triune Lord.
Application: One of our greatest challenges as humans is certainly our inability to comprehend the spiritual reality. Demons looked at Jesus and saw ... a spiritual being whom they recognized as the co-creator of the universe, and who had within him the ultimate authority of that creator to speak orders to and command compliance from even creatures opposed to his will. These same creatures, and their leader, remain active all around us today, and we completely fail to see them. The Holy Spirit, who was active in Jesus and is now active in so many of us, is likewise everywhere giving us guidance and aid and instruction, and most have no idea he exists, and even the best of us struggle to recognize and interact with him.
We had a related conversation with my son the other day, warning him about how the spiritual evil in this world needs to be seen and acknowledged as active. While he is strong in faith, he tends to attribute the social issues of our world to the people participating in such behaviors. He doesn't perceive the attack of the enemy in the spiritual realm, and how it is so pervasive that it influences the thoughts - and thus the behaviors - of billions of people ... hundreds of millions to such a degree that they will completely overhaul everything about their physical lives to pursue the lies fed them from the spiritual realm, while simultaneously denying the very existence of good and evil spirits.
I wish more of us - especially believers who have some connection to the Holy Spirit, but everyone else too - understood the reality of the spiritual warfare in our world, and recognized it is the location of the true battle. The battle is not between Christians versus those who declare and pursue practices in conflict with the Lord. It is between the Lord God almighty and his beloved creation, versus satan and his demons who desire to undermine it all. If only we could perceive it as well as the enemy sees and understands our limited physical world.
Prayer: Lord, may you give us strength today in the war against the evil one. He is active, and he has a plan, but we know your plans are better, your ways are higher, and your words are true. May we serve you in this battler, and love everyone as you would have us do. Amen.
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