Spiritual battles are raging all around us—but many of us enter them unprepared.

We see attacks on marriage, family, truth, work, authority, and love for one another. Fear, division, confusion, and discouragement seem to be increasing everywhere. Yet Scripture reminds us that our greatest enemy is not merely cultural, political, or human.

There is a spiritual battle behind what we see.

But there are also battles within us—the struggle between the flesh and the spirit, the fears that keep us from obeying God, and the temptations that threaten to draw us away from Him.

So how do we prepare?

The book of Job takes us behind the scenes and reminds us that Satan may be God’s adversary, but he is never God’s equal. Romans 7 reveals the painful struggle with indwelling sin. And throughout Scripture, we see how God prepared ordinary men and women for extraordinary battles.

Today we’ll discover why spiritual preparation begins long before the crisis arrives—and how time with God, knowledge of His Word, humble obedience, and reliance on His strength can prepare us to stand firm.

Welcome to “God’s Word Day by Day,” where I blog through the Bible in a Year. I hope you’ll join me every day. If you’re not already signed up, you can do it here or subscribe and watch on YouTube.

Today’s Readings:

Job 1 & 2
Psalm 91.7-13
Proverbs 22.13-14
Romans 7.1-25

How to Prepare for Spiritual Battles

Job 1 & 2:

Adversary, but Not Equal

The Book of Job may be one of the least understood books in the Bible. So let’s pray that God will give us fresh insight into this book. Remember “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable …” (2 Tim. 3.16).

The book starts out in “God’s heavenly courtroom” and helps us understand that not every trial is the result of sin in a believer’s life. Sometimes God allows something for His holy, just, and righteous purposes. Purposes that we may never know or understand. There were many such purposes behind what happened to Job.

This wasn’t some heavenly prizefight between God and Satan to see who was more powerful. Even though Satan is God’s adversary, he is not God’s equal! He is a created being who cannot do anything in the life of a believer without God’s permission.

God’s Loving Hands

Everything in our lives has been filtered through God’s loving hands, and He promises to use it all for our good, even our hardships (Rom. 8.28). But we can believe that only to the degree we know Him, know His character, and understand His love for us.

Even when, for His divine purposes, God allows Satan some entrance into a believer’s life, He sets limits on it (Job 1.12, 2.6). 1 Corinthians 10.13 says:

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

God knows what we need in our lives to develop us as believers, but He will not allow more than we can handle if we rely on Him. It’s not about what we can handle in our own strength, but about what He wants to do in and through us. One of His good purposes is, often, to help us learn to rely on Him in a greater way.

And even though Job never knew what went on in heaven, God recorded it in His Word for our benefit (1 Cor. 10.11), to help us understand and trust that He is always in control.

How We Strengthen Ourselves for Spiritual Battles

So, how do we strengthen ourselves for our spiritual battles?

I have a grandson who is in the Marines and two others who are police officers. Other family members have served in the Coast Guard and the Navy.

And I can tell you they didn’t wait until they were in the midst of a battle before they got prepared for them. Wisely, our military and law enforcement leaders train and equip them long before they have to fight, stand guard, patrol the waterways, or search for and arrest criminals.

Spiritual battles are just as real, yet we often go into the battlefield without our armor and are largely unprepared.

The Battle Is the Lord’s

Even though we play our part, the battle is the Lord’s. We don’t have to cast out demons or win in our human strength. We will often feel undermanned and inadequate for the job. In fact, we sometimes fail because we think we can handle things on our own.

The battle is the Lord’s, but Moses still had to confront Pharaoh according to God’s instructions. Joshua had to march around the city. Gideon had to muster his army and head out. David had to fight the giant. Joseph had to choose to serve faithfully as a slave. And the disciples had to go out into a hostile world to preach the gospel.

How did they prepare? How can we?

Moses, Joshua, Joseph, Gideon & David

Moses spent time in God’s presence. He expressed to Him his fears and doubts. He followed God’s instructions despite what he saw as his shortcomings. Later, we’re told that God spoke to Moses as a friend. Friendship requires time together.

Joshua learned by serving under Moses. He demonstrated his faith and willingness to trust God when he went into the land as one of the 12 spies. He demonstrated humility as he waited, serving patiently as Moses’ assistant. And when it was his time to lead, he faithfully listened to and obeyed God.

Joseph had to trust in the sovereignty of God. He demonstrated that faith and trust by forgiving and doing good to the brothers who had sinned against him in such a horrible way.

Gideon had to rely on God’s strength when he had no confidence in himself. Even though he struggled to believe, God patiently reassured him. But finally, he had to step out in faith both at home by taking a stand against idolatry and each step of the way as he headed for the battle.

David, too, spent time focused on God. As a shepherd boy, he learned to praise and worship Him. He learned to depend on Him when a lion and a bear came against his flock. And that faithful dependence in the smaller battles prepared him to stand up to Goliath. David was not a perfect man, but he repeatedly humbled himself under God’s hand, whatever his circumstances. He trusted God’s sovereignty and timing.

The Disciples & Us

The disciples learned at Jesus’ feet. They spent time with Him. They left their jobs and livelihoods to follow Him. And even though they all failed Him miserably at the time of His arrest and crucifixion, they repented and allowed Him to restore them. After the resurrection and ascension of the Lord, they obeyed Him by sharing the gospel and establishing the church in the face of persecution and death.

If we are to be prepared for the battle, we too must spend time with the Master. We must talk to Him, confess our sins, express our doubts, and be willing to step out in obedience and dependence on Him. And we must not think we will obey Him in the major battles if we don’t first obey Him in our day-to-day spiritual battles.

But if we walk in grace-powered obedience, spend time in His presence, and humbly rely on Him, He will do “far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” (Eph. 3.20).

So, our spiritual battles are never a fair fight because we don’t fight them alone. In fact, the battle is the Lord’s. But we need to spend time with Him, grow in our understanding of the Word, and step out in faith and obedience.

Today’s Other Readings:

Psalm 91.7-13:

Satan & Scripture

This beautiful psalm pictures God’s care for His children. Interestingly, the devil quoted verses 11 and 12 during Christ’s temptation in the wilderness (Lk. 4.1-13). You see, the devil knows the Scriptures, too, but twists them to suit his evil purposes. In Luke 4, he misused this passage in an attempt to get Jesus to do something foolish. He tried to get Him to jump off the pinnacle of the temple by saying, in effect, “If God has commanded His angels to take care of You, You can just go ahead and jump!”

Jesus responded by quoting Deuteronomy 6.16:

You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.

Scripture must be studied and understood in light of all other Scripture. That’s one reason it is so important for us to read the Bible from cover to cover. The more familiar we are with God’s Word in its entirety, the less likely Satan or some false teacher can take the Bible out of context and deceive us!

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me (Jn. 10.27).

Proverbs 22.13-14:

Lions of Fear & Laziness

The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!” (v. 13).

Have you ever known someone who refused to work by finding every excuse in the book?

• That job doesn’t pay enough.
• It’s too hard.
• It’s not what I want to do with my life.
• I’ll lose my unemployment.

We can also be fearful of “lions” when God is leading us to step out in faith in some area. “Lions” like:

• I’ve never done that before.
• I don’t have enough education.
• That’s too far out of my comfort zone.
• I don’t have what it takes.
• ( Or … you fill in the blank.)

Whether it’s trusting God in some new ministry, going back to school, starting a new business or career, homeschooling your children, becoming a stay-at-home mom, or some other endeavor … if God is calling you to do it, He’ll equip you for it.

Romans 7.1-25:

The Flesh & the Spirit

In chapter 7, Paul is very transparent about the struggles of the sin nature and how, even as believers who desire to do right, the flesh pulls against those good desires. But he also proclaims that the answer is Christ and our willingness to let Him work in and through us. Verses 24-25:

O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

As I said, God never intended for us to fight life’s battles alone, not even the personal ones. We are to rely on His strength and grow in our dependence on Him. When we do, we are assured victory.

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Rom. 8.37).

⁹ And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰ Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor. 12.9-10).

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4.13).

Lord, help us to be better students of the Word, to read it prayerfully, and to meditate on its truths. Help us to trust that Your commands are for our good and that Your promises are true. Help us to remember that we can do all that You have commanded us when we rely on You. And give us a heart to understand and to obey. In the name of Your Son. Amen.

Coming Up:

In the coming days, we’ll talk about running to God when we want to run away, the basis for biblical hope, and eternal security, among other things.

I hope you’ll sign up so you don’t miss any of them. You might also like to check out the latest videos on our YouTube channel.

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Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥

Note about this post:

I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years.

A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”

I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.

Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)