Spiritual battles aren’t always easy to recognize. Peter certainly had no idea Satan was using him to distract, tempt and stumble Jesus. Jesus knew it, though, and was with Peter through it!
Matthew 16:21-24 21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the
elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be
killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he
said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do
not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up
their cross and follow me.
Jesus told Peter and all the
disciples that in order to truly follow Him we must give up control of our
lives (which we don’t have anyway). Then, we can submit to God and His plans. The
result will be true spiritual victory through Christ and not ourselves.
God was with my niece the other
night to bring spiritual victory in the midst of Satanic attacks.
My sister told her husband a few
days ago that she felt a spiritual battle going on with their middle child. She
thought Heidi was close to accepting Christ as her Lord and Savior, but Satan
was attacking her. Then, Tuesday night, after their family Bible reading, Heidi
looked at my sister and said “I want to be a Christian!” They talked about what
that meant, prayed, and then rejoiced! Afterwards, Heidi was more giddy and
excited than she had ever been and began singing “I am a C... I am a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N!”
