Are you sure you know who your enemy is? There is a real being known as Satan who has existed for thousands of years. Satan still thinks he can overthrow God, and he and his network of spiritual combatants are continuing his assault even today. He hates God with a passion that surpasses anything a human has ever imagined. He hates God’s creation, and most of all, he hates humans – because of how much God loves them. Satan and his demons gained permission to enter and deeply influence the minds of people like Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Pol Pot and others, who in turn unleash devilish oppression and wars on humanity. He seeks defectors from God’s army that he can induct into his own. Human armies have their objectives, but many of them are subordinate to Satan’s goals. He is just using them.

He has objectives involving presidents, dictators and nations. But he also has objectives for each and every one of us. If he can’t use you, he’ll seek to eliminate you. “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) Don’t miss this: he doesn’t want to trip you up, make you feel bad, bum you out or hurt your feelings. He wants to devour you, and he won’t quit trying until he’s accomplished this ultimate objective.

He will use any weakness we have, any experience we’ve gone through, and any vulnerability he can discover to fulfill his mission for us. You can be positive that he will use your traumatic combat experience to find the open spots in your armor. He got his eye on that place just above your vest, under your collarbone.

He is our enemy. Not God.