We all do it. You spill your coffee, you pop a tire, you’re late for work, or you’re just having a rough morning, and before long you’re mumbling “Not today satan.” As Christians living in a broken world, it’s easy to blame every inconvenience and negative emotion on the enemy. The devil is real, but when we attribute every difficulty to him, we may unintentionally ignore the deeper lessons God is trying to teach us. The truth is, it’s easy to over-spiritualize things and give the devil credit that the Bible doesn’t. Rather than relying on assumptions or experiences, we should look to the truth of Scripture to understand spiritual realities and learn to discern the difference between genuine spiritual warfare and the ordinary challenges of living in a fallen world.
Ephesians 6:12 tells us, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” The enemy indeed comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10), but Scripture doesn’t teach that every problem is a direct attack from Satan. His tactics haven’t changed: he deceives, tempts, accuses, and discourages, but not every hardship or inconvenience is a demon in disguise.
When our understanding of the spiritual realm is shaped more by fear or personal experience than by Scripture, we can begin to over-spiritualize everyday life. We can be aware of this by recognizing when we blame Satan for the consequences of our own choices, assume every hardship is the result of spiritual warfare, search for hidden spiritual meanings in every coincidence, ignore practical or medical explanations, and begin living more in fear than in faith. The danger with this is that it produces unhealthy fear and anxiety and ends up harming our spiritual life rather than helping it. It also pulls our attention away from the Lord and what he’s trying to do in our lives.
Scripture calls us to pray first. Philippians 4:6 reads “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Whether it is spiritual warfare or just a bad day, the answer is prayer. We are instructed to call on the name of the Lord, read His Word, and reflect honestly. We often reference John 10:10, forgetting the second half, and the most important part of the verse, when Jesus says “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Remember, the enemy is real, but he is not omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient like our God. He does not have the same authority, making it literally impossible for him to be under every rock. Memorize and recall Colossians 2:15: “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” We shouldn’t pretend the enemy doesn’t exist, but we shouldn’t give him the credit that we often do. Sometimes a glass of spilled milk is just a glass of spilled milk. We should take a step back and realize that not every battle is caused by Satan, but every battle should drive us closer to our Savior.
Written by Kayleigh Rosado