For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).

Notice Paul's use of the personal pronoun “our.” This war is not just a spat between two cosmic forces that has little to do with us. We cannot shrug our shoulders when we read about it and say “I don't have a dog in that fight” (a favorite Texan expression). We do have a stake in this battle. Why?

Whether you realize it or not, you are living in the crossfire of this spiritual war. You have an Enemy who is determined to destroy everything and everyone important to you. Those who dismiss such words as being "over the top", "sensationalistic", or simply secondary to "more important spiritual realities" do so to their own detriment. The late pastor Martyn Lloyd Jones wrote:

Not to realize that you are in a conflict means one thing only, and it is that you are so hopelessly defeated, and so "knocked out" as it were, that you do not even know it — you are completely defeated by the devil. Anyone who is not aware of a fight and a conflict in a spiritual sense is in a drugged and hazardous condition.

Admittedly, most Christians are not aware of this intense battle in which we are engaged. Although we regularly witness the fallout of the Enemy's assaults all around us — broken marriages, wayward children, divided churches, inexplicable acts of violence — we fail to connect the dots and understand the source of many of our conflicts.

How can we not only survive, but win the war that has been waged against us? Paul encourages us to “put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:12).

In my book, The Divine Defense, I use this passage to outline six simple strategies for winning ‘the greatest battles of our lives.” Yes, our adversary is formidable, but he is also defeatable.

Avoiding the Extremes

However, in addressing the subject of Satan and spiritual warfare we need to exercise caution. Satan is just as pleased by those who exalt him as by those who ignore him. Even though Satan and his forces are real and really powerful, we need not fear them, nor do we need to become obsessed with them.

Author Neil Anderson compares the world of Satan and his demons to the world of germs. We know that germs, though invisible, are all around us. They inhabit our food, our water, our air, and other people with whom we come in contact. Some people are absolutely phobic about germs and spend their lives trying to insulate themselves from any contact with them.

But the right diet, appropriate rest and exercise, and practicing some simple principles of hygiene will protect you from most infections. You do not have to obsess about germs to be free from them. Yet, without an awareness of these microbes — and the ways to protect yourselves from them — you would be more prone to illness and even death.

We need to exercise balance in our understanding of this complex subject of spiritual warfare. But please do not equate “balance” with “passive.” As the ancient warrior Sun Tzu observed:

The art of war is of vital importance... It is a matter of life and death, a road to either to safety or to ruin. Hence, under no circumstances can it be ignored.

You are in the middle of an invisible, though very real, war.

The stakes are high.

Your enemy is skilled, armed, and determined.

The possibility of losing everything important to you is real.

You must be aware of and prepared for the fight.

Adapted from The Divine Defense by Robert Jeffress, Waterbrook Press, 2006. Used with permission.