Demons

     I don't think we give demons enough credit, because we give them too much credit.  All through the Bible we hear about spiritual warfare.  I have always seen this as God and Satan slamming lightning bolts and such at each other far away from earth.  Which really doesn't make sense because God could take him out at any given second and He will.  I have found Satan's demons are here on earth.  This is exactly where the battle is.  We don't like to think about it, probably because we have watched too many scary movies and believe they are more powerful than we are.  They are not.
     I like to think of demons as fire ants.  When you live in places that have fire ants you learn to wear your shoes in the yard.  You keep an eye out for them.  As long as you see them before they get on you, you're safe.  Even if they do get on you, as long as you swat them off before they bite you won't suffer the sting.  I picture God's angels flicking fire ants off as we go through our daily routines.  But if we aren't paying attention or we purposely go stand in an ant hill, I think He let's us get bit to teach us something - don't stand in an anthill.
     At first the demon thing seemed like an excuse.  How convenient to blame demons for all the wrong decisions I had made in my lifetime.  But then I began to think about the men who had abused me.  How much easier it was to forgive them if I knew they were being coaxed by the enemy.  Of course they still had responsibility because they had chosen to follow the voice of the enemy instead of God's voice.  But who was I to say God's was the easier voice to hear and follow?  The enemy is a schemer.  He goes so far as to use God's word to fool us.
     I am a very visual person.  I picture God as the big bull dog walking along willing to talk to us, if we want to listen.  Free will.  Satan is that little yipping dog bouncing around trying to bark louder than the bull dog.  Sometimes it's his yipping and bouncing that distracts us.  One day, the bull dog's going to bite that little yipper in the neck.


I want to understand why God didn't just wipe out the enemy the minute he saw trouble.  Why spritual warfare when He could have ended it before we were created.  Warfare has to mean more than hand to hand combat.  So, I looked it up

  

1.

a. The waging of war against an enemy; armed conflict.

b. Military operations marked by a specific characteristic: guerrilla warfare; chemical warfare.

2. A state of disharmony or conflict; strife: constant spousal warfare in the household.

3. Acts undertaken to destroy or undermine the strength of another: political warfare.

    
     Why do we wage war with another?  To take?  To protect?  He gave us free will and is waiting for us to decide.  Some people belive there is no devil.  Some have taken hell out of their bible.  What is the point?  If you choose not to follow God, there has to be an opposite or it wouldn't matter to Him.  Why would the enemy fight against me if I already belong to God? 
Because the enemy wants us.  He doesn't want us recruiting his soldiers to our side of the field.  If he can whisper in our ears that we are not capable, unworthy, stupid and all the other lies he tells us, he will paralyze us and we won't be able to fight.  We won't be out there in the world saving people from his clutches.  If he whispers those lies long enough, he can move on to others because we begin to play the messages for ourselves. 
     Even though I don't understand this whole warfare thing I do know the enemy has played a number on me over the years.  I isolate because of the lies he has told me.  I guess it's time to put on my shoes, get out to the battle field and kick some ants.