Don’t Cower; Grow Stronger
By Kyle Davison Bair
Forget everything you’ve seen in movies about spiritual warfare.
Our cultural imaginations morph spiritual warfare into something akin to forces of darkness and light clashing in epic battles raging all over the earth, requiring titanic struggles to overcome such a vast and vigorous enemy.
That’s a lie.
Spiritual warfare is discipleship. It is one of many tools God provides to His children to enable us to grow stronger.
God doesn’t want you to run terrified from the devil. He wants you to count it all joy when you encounter trials of various kinds—even spiritual ones—because through them you can grow mature and complete, not lacking in anything (James 1:2–4).
Let me prove it to you.
Begins with God
Understand that spiritual warfare begins with God, not the devil. When we see God in His proper place, everything else clicks into its proper place. In every spiritual conflict, your first reaction should be to pray through this verse:
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them (Rom. 8:28, NLT).
There is no cosmic clash of titanic spiritual forces, with each side straining to gain supremacy. Rather, God wields complete magisterial control. He is working every attack of the enemy out for the good of His children—right now.
Because of this promise:
- We can always hope. God is resolving every attack for good.
- We can run toward spiritual attacks. We know we can grow stronger from them.
- Spiritual warfare spurs on discipleship. It reveals where we need to grow.
Already Defeated
As a pastor, I cherish the privilege of praying with people on their darkest days. Many dark days include demonic activity. When people describe the spiritual warfare they experience, they invariably see the devil as an unbeatable enemy. They’ve tried everything they know, but they can’t stop his attacks.
In these situations, we don’t take on the devil in battle. We don’t have to. Jesus already defeated the devil. This provokes frustration in many. If Jesus beat the devil before, why can’t I beat him now?
This frustration results from fighting a battle you can’t win—because Jesus already won it. No matter how much energy you exert fighting demons, you can’t add anything to Jesus’ victory over the devil.
Therefore, we must stop viewing the devil as an enemy that we need to slug it out with. Instead, we view the devil as a tool in the hand of God. Our God is so endlessly clever that He can use every attack for good.
Think of it this way: why is the devil attacking you there? Out of all the ways he could attack you, why that way?
The devil attacks your weak points. Sin creates these weak points—either your sin or the sin somebody else committed against you. Therefore, the devil’s attacks serve as a red flag highlighting where you need growth the most: where you need to repent or where you need to heal.
Let me tell you a story to bring this all together.
The Unexpected
Carl often experienced demonic activity, including objects in his apartment moving on their own and voices that taunted and tormented him.1 He wanted someone to set him free from these attacks. He came to my church because he’d heard we have a powerful deliverance ministry.
But we didn’t do what he expected.
Instead of casting out the demons, we prayed. We looked at God’s promises. We considered the weight of God’s declaration: “. . . the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world” (1 John 4:4, NLT).
Then we started growing.
As Carl explained his situation, he revealed a great deal of anger he held toward people who had harmed him throughout his life. We took him to the Scriptures, explaining that this ongoing anger was likely giving the demons access to his life, based on Ephesians 4: “And ‘don’t sin by letting anger control you.’ Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil” (vss. 26–27, NLT).
To get rid of the demons, Carl simply had to forgive.
We began working through all the anger Carl harbored. It took a few sessions, as many people had treated him horribly. For every wound, Carl went before God in prayer. He chose to forgive each person. He didn’t let them off the hook; he handed them over to God for justice.
A few days after one session, Carl texted, saying that the demonic activity had peaked suddenly in his apartment. I asked if he was feeling any anger. He said yes. Raw hatred toward one person had flooded up in his heart the day before.
Over a quick series of texts, I encouraged Carl to forgive this person. It challenged Carl. This person had hurt him worse than anyone else. But he had already tasted the freedom of forgiveness. So, Carl prayed, giving this person over to God and choosing to forgive.
And the demonic activity in his apartment ceased.
I never cast out a demon. I didn’t have to. When Carl forgave, he destroyed the stronghold the demons held in his life. With their stronghold gone, they fled.
Humble Healing
If the demonic activity had never happened, Carl may have harbored his hatred for the rest of his life, never knowing the freedom and joy h e found in Jesus. But because they attacked, Carl was able to repent, heal, and grow.
Demonic strongholds appear because of our own sin or the sin someone inflicted on us. In Carl’s case, it was both. Many people had sinned against him, creating deep wounds. But Carl had sinned, as well, by holding on to his anger instead of forgiving. When Carl forgave, God healed the wounds.
The demonic attacks ceased, but that was secondary. Carl’s heart was the matter of primary importance. He made the hard choice to forgive, ending a lifetime of rebellion against God.
James explains what happened: “‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:6–7).
When Carl forgave, he was choosing to submit himself to God. He obeyed God’s command to forgive (Matt. 6:12). By doing so, he resisted the devil, destroying his stronghold in Carl’s life. And then, like clockwork, the demons fled.
Spiritual warfare became discipleship for Carl. He came out of this experience closer to God. He held a newfound appreciation for prayer. Carl grew more like Jesus by forgiving all who hurt him. He understood more clearly the power of God and the weakness of the devil. Carl saw the wisdom in verses he’d never appreciated before. He learned to trust God, seeing that his desire for forgiveness unlocked a life of freedom Carl didn’t even know he was missing.
Count It Joy
In my years of pastoral ministry, anger has been the most common stronghold. Yet, any sin can become a stronghold. Sin is rebellion. Any area of life harboring rebellion against God opens the door to the devil. By contrast, a life free of rebellion gives the devil no access.
Jesus lived completely submitted to the Father. As a result, the devil couldn’t touch Him. When the devil attacked Jesus for 40 days in the wilderness, he could only tempt and lie, trying to trick Jesus into sinning. But because Jesus refused to sin against the Father, the devil had no access to Jesus’ life. The devil couldn’t do anything but flee.
This is why Peter says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). If you harbor any rebellion against God—any sin you won’t surrender—the devil can pounce in through that open door.
Peter continues: “Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Peter 5:9). Resist the devil both by refusing to sin and by swiftly repenting of any sin his attacks reveal.
You may suffer the devil’s attacks for a while, as Carl did. But as Peter says, “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10, ESV).
Once Carl prayed, repented, and forgave, God indeed restored him, secured him, confirmed him, strengthened him, and established him in the truth.
So, count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you experience spiritual attacks. The enemy is pointing you straight toward a sin that needs repentance or a wound that needs healing. By submitting to God in those areas, you can build up the strength to persevere through anything. This is how we become mature and complete, not lacking in anything.
1While the identity is changed to ensure privacy, every detail of this story is true.
KYLE DAVISON BAIR serves as pastor for prayer ministries and counseling at New Hope Church in New Hope, MN. He writes regularly at pastorkyle.substack.com.
