Fiery Darts

By: Melody Mohnhaupt

If you have a Bible near you, go get it. If you have a phone or a laptop (which I'm sure your probably on at the moment) you might need to use it for duel purposes. I have referenced many verses in this week’s blog, and I’d really like you to get the fullness of the message through the confirming voice of the Lord (Romans 10:17). When you see a reference [exhibit A], please look it up :) Sorry to put you to work, but it’ll be worth it!

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Ephesians 6:10-20 (KJV)

Man, does this passage ring true to my current situation. Sometimes life feels like a war; one battle after the other. And to be honest, most of the time I’m just plain tired of fighting. The soldiers are stacking up against me, their ammo is becoming more sophisticated, and I’m starting to panic. 

Satan and his army are precisely shooting one flaming, fiery dart after another and it seems as if I’m their only target. I don’t know how much longer I can last against this. I just know they are watching and waiting; expecting me to throw up my white flag of surrender at any given moment and exhaustingly admit, “You win”. 

Well, not today, Satan. Thats exactly what he wants me to do; to give up. His whole mission is to destroy me, and if he can't do that, the next best attempt would be to wear me down until I no longer have any fight left in me.

Obviously, I’m speaking metaphorically here. I’m not literally dodging darts all day. I can’t actually see spiritual principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness pursuing me. But I must understand that the word expressly tells us that this is what we fight against. We need to continually think and see things spiritually. 

Each day presents its own challenges and it seems like, as of late, those challenges have only increased. I am a spiritual threat to Satan and his army. Therefore, they have placed a big, shiny, red target on my back. They are gunning straight for me and it’s starting to take it’s toll. All of those things that are flying at me in attempts to bring me down are nothing but strategically placed snares of the devil. He wants me to be overwhelmed by everything new on my plate. He wants me to lose hope and to stop striving after the Lord’s will. He wants me to remain quiet, and to, eventually, quit. He’d love nothing more than to steal my joy and my peace and to knock me straight off my course. After all, he has only come to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).

I can’t give up. I’m a fighter. And I cant forget the rest of that verse. Satan’s plot might be to take me down, but Jesus came that I might have life, and that I might have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

I must put my spiritual armor on and never remove it. I can't let my guard down. I need to be reminded of the truth: that Satan is a liar (John 8:44), that the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in me (Romans 8:11, 1 John 4:4), and that the Lord has not forsaken me (Deuteronomy 31:6)! I must preserve myself through integrity and uprightness (Psalm 25:21). I must maintain a solid footing in the Word of the Lord as my foundation that will fill me with peace (Matthew 7:24,25). I must protect myself from the schemes of the enemy by truly putting my faith in the Lord and recognizing that Satan has no power or authority over me (Luke 10:19). And lastly, I must continue in the faith until the day of the Lord’s return with my mind being changed daily according to the Word and praying always. (Colossians 1:23 & 29, Jude 20 & 21).

I love that saying, “Life is tough, my darling, but so are you”. And you want to hear the very best part? (drum roll please!) We aren’t alone! (and the crowd goes wild!) The Lord has our back one hundred percent (Exodus 14:14)! Uh, can you say victory?!

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind for me. I have attempted something new that the Lord has been asking of me and as soon as I stretched my foot out to take the first step, here came a fiery dart. I was so close to giving up and allowing Satan to get the victory in this area. But praise God, he opened my eyes to the reality of the situation. 

Of course Satan is going to do everything in his power to keep me from moving forward in the Lord! He doesn't want me to be used like Paul was: “to speak boldly as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:20)! But he can’t stop me. 

Once we start seeing things in the spirit realm, we are set free. We realize how much authority we really do carry as daughters of the King and how all these hinderances and annoyances in our lives are simply tactical moves of the enemy (2 Corinthians 2:11). We are mighty princess warriors that walk in the spirit with assuredness (Psalm 46:5, 62:6).

Think spiritually, sisters in the Lord. Do not be defeated. Fight! (1 Timothy 6:12) Satan can go ahead and ready, aim, fire.

Love and Prayers,

~Melody