Summary

Have you ever felt like you were doing everything right—praying, serving, and trying to stay positive—yet a wave of heavy discouragement or a sudden crisis hit your family out of nowhere? If you are tired of feeling defenseless and are asking, what does God say about spiritual warfare, you are exactly where you need to be.

In this episode of the Arise, Women of God podcast, host Tamara K. Anderson and licensed clinical social worker Wendi Christensen dive into the biblical origins of the battle between light and darkness. We explore the cosmic backstory of the war in heaven, explaining why striving to follow God paints a target on your back for the adversary. We also discuss why our daily battles are not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual darkness.

Discover the specific armor of light God has placed at your disposal to fortify your mind, soul, and household. We discuss the "It Is Written" strategy Jesus used in the desert and the clear two-step process to actively resist the devil so he must flee. Finally, we look at the incredible story where sending a choir to the front lines resulted in a divine ambush against the enemy! Tune in to move from feeling like a sitting duck to overcoming with Jesus Christ!

Episode Takeaways

• The Cosmic Backstory (Revelation 12:7-12): Spiritual warfare is not a metaphor; it is a biblical reality. Satan was cast down to earth and is actively waging war against those who keep the commandments of God.
• Not Flesh and Blood (Ephesians 6:12): When contention hits your home, remember that you are not fighting your spouse or your children. We wrestle against principalities and the rulers of darkness.
• The "It Is Written" Strategy (Matthew 4:1-11): When Jesus was tempted in the desert, He didn't argue with the devil. He simply quoted scripture. You can use the Word of God as an offensive weapon against the lies of the enemy.
• The Two-Step Process (James 4:7): "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." You must first align your will with God's light, and then actively stand your ground and command the darkness to leave.
• Worship as a Weapon (2 Chronicles 20:21-22): The people of Judah sent the choir to the front lines of the battle, and God ambushed their enemies! Praising God in the middle of a spiritual attack is a powerful way to set a divine ambush.

Key Bible Verses Referenced in this Episode

• Revelation 12:7-12: The war in heaven and the dragon making war with those who keep the commandments.
• Ephesians 6:12: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers..."
• John 14:27: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you... Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
• Matthew 4:1-11: Jesus fasting in the wilderness and using the "It is written" strategy to defeat Satan's temptations.
• Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (To quote when the enemy says you are a failure).
• Isaiah 49:25: "...for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children." (To quote when the enemy attacks your kids).
• James 4:7: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
• 2 Chronicles 20:21-22: King Jehoshaphat appointing singers to praise the Lord before the army, resulting in God ambushing their enemies.

Free Resource

Ready to put these tactical weapons to use in your living room? Get our free A Mother's Spiritual Defense Guide: 6 Empowering Steps to Fortify Home & Family downloadable PDF here: https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/A-Mothers-Spiritual-Defense-Guide

Reflection Questions

• When you are under spiritual attack, do you try to argue with the enemy's lies, or do you use the "It Is Written" strategy (Matthew 4) to quote scripture back at him?
• Look at the order of James 4:7. Are you trying to resist the devil before submitting yourself to God? How can you submit your home to God today?
• Have you ever used worship (like the choir in 2 Chronicles 20) as a weapon to fight a spiritual battle in your home?

Host & Guest

Tamara K. Anderson @tamarakanderson

Wendi Christensen @wendichristensencounseling

Transcript

https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/blog/what-does-god-say-about-spiritual-warfare

Well, have you ever felt like you were doing everything right? Praying, serving, trying to stay positive, and yet a wave of heavy discouragement has settled upon you?

Or perhaps a sudden crisis hit your family out of the middle of nowhere? Maybe you find yourself asking, what does God say about spiritual warfare? Because you are tired of feeling, feeling like a sitting duck.

You want to know if there is a deeper reason for the struggle and more importantly, if God has given you a way to fight back. Well, my friend, you are in the right place.

By the end of today's episode, you will understand the origin of this ancient conflict and recognize the specific armor of light God has placed at your disposal to fortify your mind, soul, and even extending to your household.

We're going to help you stop feeling defenseless by exploring the it is written strategy Jesus used in the desert and sharing how to recognize when the adversary is striking at your weak points. Moving from under attack to overcoming with Jesus Christ. Stay tuned. Ordinary women extraordinary faith. When God calls, we say yes.

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Arise Women of God podcast. I am your host, Tamara K. Anderson. And joining me today is the amazing Wendy Christensen, who happens to be my co founder of Women warriors of Light.

And she has also been a licensed client clinical social worker for over 30 years. So she has a world of experience and helping people through moments of crisis and a lot of those actually include spiritual attacks.

We are honored to have her with us today. To understand this battle happening in your home, in your living room, perhaps you need to understand where it started.

So we're going to go to the book of Revelation in the Bible, and if you read verses 7 through 12, we're kind of given this beautiful cosmic backstory. There was a war in heaven between light and darkness.

And Michael and his angels defeated the dragon or Satan, our great adversary, and those who followed him and they cast him down to earth where he is now waging war against those who keep the commandments of God. Does that sound familiar to you? If you're striving to follow God, you have a target painted on your back for the adversary.

This isn't just a metaphor. This is reality. But the good news is God does not leave us to fight alone. He gives us a manual and he gives us a mandate.

Wendy is now going to share what the Apostle Paul said says about spiritual warfare. And what she has noticed about the first step of winning is simply acknowledging that we aren't just fighting physical problems.

That reminds me of a scripture in Ephesians 6:12, for we wrestle not against Flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world.

Another scripture to show us that we are not just us, but as we talk about spiritual warfare, I think it's also really important to remember that Christ has so many more armies than the opposition from Satan or Lucifer, wherever you call them, but that there's so many more armies and tools and power to help us to overcome Satan and to overcome the opposition. And so one of the scriptures that came to mind for me was, my peace I leave with you.

My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth I unto you, but I forgot the end.

Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Yes, and I love those scriptures. To find peace, you can find peace.

But again, you have to understand what you're fighting in order to find that peace so that you can keep your focus on Jesus Christ. Because ultimately, we always want to keep our focus, our light, our attention on Jesus Christ. He is our goal.

He's kind of like the dangling carrot that we keep in front of us as we face our enemies. And so be aware of your enemies. Focus on Jesus Christ, and then you'll come off conqueror.

So good, right? When we focus on Jesus, we begin to see and feel the armor he provides us.

He gives us a shield of faith to block those fiery darts of the adversary and the sword of the spirit, our only offensive weapon to actually fight back. The greatest example of using the word as a weapon is the story of Jesus Christ in the wilderness found in Matthew, chapter 4.

After 40 days of fasting, Jesus was at his most vulnerable. He was physically exhausted because he hadn't eaten for so long. And. And that is exactly when Satan struck.

He tried to twist Jesus identity and his needs. But every single time, Jesus responded with three powerful words. It is written, he didn't argue with the devil.

He quoted truth, and we can do the same.

When the adversary may whisper in your mind that you are a failure or that you have sinned too far and God can't possibly want to save you, you can quote, I can do all things through Christ. When he tells you that your family is lost and you may as well give up on your kids, you can quote, I will save thy children.

There is literal power in vocalizing God's word. Yes, And I love that there is power in God's word.

And so if you have, like, a favorite verse, if you feel like the enemy is attacking you all the time, find some beautiful verses that you can use that are favorites for you. For example, Be still and know that I am God. That is a beautiful verse, you know. And we can even echo the Savior's word.

Get the hence Satan and then call on God and call on angels to help you. But what happens after you quote the Word? What is our actual authority in our homes?

God gives us a very clear two step process in James chapter four, verse seven, where he says, submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Notice the order. First we must submit to God. We align our will with His.

We bring in his light, then we resist. To resist doesn't just mean we hope he goes away. It means to stand your ground and vocally command the darkness to leave in the name of Jesus Christ.

This is exactly what the people of Judah did in 2 Chronicles chapter 20. They were facing an overwhelming army, but they didn't send the soldiers first. First they prayed and they pled before God to save them.

Then I'm going to read to you what happened next. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord that should praise the beauty of holiness.

And they went out before the army and to say, praise the Lord for His mercy endureth forever. And.

And when they began to sing and to praise the Lord sent ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, which were come against Judah. And they were smitten. Isn't that amazing? They did not send armies first against their enemies. They felt impressed by God.

To send the choir to the front lines, that's not something you or I would probably usually do. But as I found, when God inspires something, even though it doesn't make sense, you do it. As they sang, God took care of the problem.

He ambushed their enemies for them.

When you submit your home to God through worship and resist the enemy in the name of Jesus Christ, you aren't just defending, you are setting a divine ambush against the adversary. I love the power of the Word, how it says that we are more than conquerors through Him. You have the armor, you have the Word.

And you have the authority to command the darkness to depart. You are the guardian of your home and light always wins against darkness.

To help you put these tactical weapons to use in your living room, we have created a beautiful resource for you. A Mother's Spiritual Defense guide. Six Empowering steps to Fortify Home and Family. You can find it in the link below.

Inside, we dive deep into step number four. Cast out and and calm down. Giving you the exact prayer to use when you recognize an attack on you or any of your children or family members.

We also walk you through step number five wielding God's word, where we give you a three part formula to turn any scriptural promise into a direct strike against the enemy. So my friends, you do not have to fight this battle alone. Please know that God didn't send you here to earth to fight alone.

You've got an army of angels you can call on the power of His Word and the power that comes in the name of Jesus Christ. And you have us, your sister warriors, standing with you. So my friends, until next time may you arise.

Stand with God as a warrior of light and do it God's way. God strong. If today's episode helped you feel a little closer to God, please like and subscribe.

It helps us grow and ensures Heaven's whispers stay at the top of your feed whenever you need them most.