The Unseen Battle

Standing Firm in Faith

It’s a paradox of the Christian life, isn’t it? To be told to fight an enemy we cannot see, to walk through this life in faith, yet to be told by our flesh, our minds, that the fight is sometimes invisible, and the victory feels just out of reach. 

It’s like being in a storm, with no horizon in sight, and no lighthouse guiding us through the fog. The unseen forces pulling at us, pulling around us, making us feel so small, so vulnerable. We don’t always see the bigger picture, and often, we can’t even feel the presence of the One who promises to be with us. There’s a tension between the spiritual truths we know and the emotional, physical, and mental battles we face daily. And if we’re honest, sometimes it feels like we’re fighting blindfolded, with nothing to hold on to.

It’s not a new problem either. This goes all the way back to the heart of the garden, to the very beginning. God spoke to Adam and Eve, gave them everything, set them in the Garden of Eden to tend to it, to be fruitful, and to enjoy His creation. Yet there was that one serpent, a crafty adversary in the form of temptation and deceit. Adam and Eve didn’t see it coming. They didn’t know what they were walking into. They were led into a decision that would change everything. And just like that, the battle began, but this battle was not only external. It was internal too. The enemy began to work on the inside, in the hearts and minds of the first humans. It wasn’t just about the forbidden fruit. It was about trust, about doubt, about choosing to listen to the voice of an unseen enemy over the voice of an unseen God.

This tension between visible and invisible, between what we see and what we don’t, has been the foundation of the human experience ever since. It’s the same tension Paul speaks of in Ephesians 6:12 when he writes that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” We are, in every moment, in a battle we cannot always perceive with our physical senses. And that can be frustrating, disorienting, exasperating. How do you fight an enemy that hides in the shadows? How do you face an invisible adversary when everything in you screams for clarity, for direction, for a sign that you’re not alone in the struggle? We long to feel seen and to know that the One who calls us to fight is with us, guiding us through the darkness.

But then, the command comes, doesn’t it? The call to press on, to stand firm. “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might,” Paul says in Ephesians 6:10. To be strong in the Lord. This isn't a call to muster up strength on our own. It’s a reminder that our strength doesn’t come from ourselves. Our strength doesn’t come from what we can see, what we can touch, or what we can control. Our strength comes from Him, from the One who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. From the One who made the invisible visible, who spoke creation into existence, and who sent His Son to dwell among us, to show us that the unseen God is not distant, but has entered into our world and our struggle. The One we still cannot physically see.

And I think that's where the key to the battle lies. We may not see the full scope of the fight, but we can trust the One who does. We can rest in the fact that God is not blind to the spiritual warfare we’re engaged in, even if we feel like we are. It is God who sees the enemy from all angles, who knows the strategies, who knows the end from the beginning. He has already won the victory in Christ. The battle is real, yes, but the outcome has already been secured. Jesus, when He walked this earth, faced every spiritual force of evil head-on. He stood in the midst of it, untouched by the enemy’s schemes, and He offered Himself as the ultimate sacrifice to disarm the powers of darkness.

Hebrews 2:14-15 reminds us that “since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who, through fear of death, were subject to lifelong slavery.” Jesus broke the chains of fear and death. He fought the unseen enemy and won. His victory is our victory. It’s not a matter of us fighting in our own strength, but of us relying on the power that comes from His victory.

And yet, even knowing this, we still feel it, don’t we? The weight of the struggle. The urge to rebel, to resist, to run away. Our human nature doesn’t always line up with God's calling to endure, to persevere. Paul acknowledges this in Romans 7, when he says, “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” There’s a war within us, a war that makes it feel impossible to keep fighting, to keep standing firm. The enemy works not just from the outside, but from the inside, stirring up doubts, fears, desires that seem too much to handle.

But here’s the beauty: even in the midst of that internal battle, God is with us. He’s not asking us to fight this fight alone. In Romans 8:26, we are told that “the Spirit helps us in our weakness.” When we don’t know what to pray, when we don’t have the words, the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And not only that, but God is using this struggle, this very tension, for our good. Paul continues in Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” The battle, the struggle, the pain, the doubts, God is working through all of it. It’s part of the refining process. We may not see it clearly now, but every step, every fight, is being used by God to shape us into the image of His Son.

In the midst of the storm, we’re not alone. Jesus, the One who calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee, is the same One who stands with us in our storm. And though we may feel blind-folded, as though we’re fighting a battle we can’t win, we remember that we do not fight alone. God is near, even when we don’t see Him. His victory is certain, even when we feel defeated. His presence is constant, even when it feels like we’re walking through the darkest valley.

This is the essence of our walk by faith, not by sight. The unseen is real, though we cannot always grasp it with our limited vision. The battle is real, but the victory has already been secured. We fight not from a place of defeat, but from a place of triumph in Christ. And in the moments where the struggle seems too great, we lean into His grace, knowing that in our weakness, He is strong. In our doubt, He is faithful. In our blindness, He is the light that guides us. We may not see the enemy clearly, but we know the One who has already won the war.

All we need to do is stand strong and trust IN HIM.

image made by ai at my direction