Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

—Ephesians 6:10-12

When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

—Colossians 2:15

One of my favorite movies when I was young was the 2005 live-action version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I’d enjoyed the animated version when I was little, but for middle-school-me, the 2005 version blew the animated movie out of the water. 

There’s one scene that I’m particularly fond of. At this point in the film, the White Witch’s winter has been turned to spring and Peter, Susan, and Lucy have found their way to where Aslan—the series’ Christ figure—and his followers are camped. Their wayward brother, Edmund, has been rescued and the children have learned that a prophecy foretold that when four children—two boys and two girls—came to Narnia and were made the nation’s kings and queens, the White Witch’s reign of terror would end.

They’re faced with a decision. Return home and escape this dangerous country or stay and fight for Narnia’s independence beside the friends they’ve made. Like any good hero, they decide to stay and fight, but what happens next fascinates me.

The next scene follows the children as they prepare for battle. We might think of preparing to fight a battle as a serious matter, but for the children, it almost looks like play. They’re practicing their skills—archery, throwing knives, sword fighting on horseback—but they do so with grins and laughter.

I love this attitude, this visual of what preparing for spiritual battle should look like. There’s real practice of very real and necessary skills taking place because a real battle is coming, but that practice is accompanied by the confidence and lightheartedness that comes from knowing the king, who will be victorious according to prophecy, is with them.

I think we see the same pattern in Scripture. In Ephesians, we get a clear picture of the magnitude of the battle ahead. When we’re commanded to put on the full Armor of God, it carries with it the connotation of something that’s meant to become a permanent part of our life, a daily practice and discipline. The word for the devil’s schemes makes it clear that these aren’t half-baked plans, but clever and strategic attacks against us. 

Then there’s the word struggle. It’s not our favorite word, but we’ve all experienced it. We’ve gone through difficult times and struggled against temptation, but when I looked into the meaning of this word, it caught me off guard. 

The note in my study Bible said that the original word referred to hand-to-hand combat. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been real big on the idea of meeting a demon face-to-face, but that’s what the text seemed to be alluding to, so I looked deeper. According to Berean Strong’s Lexicon, the word translated as struggle refers not to a fistfight, but to a wrestling match. 

For me, that’s a wake-up call. It’s personal. Almost an intimate attempt to destroy me and the people I care about the most. 

But even that truth shouldn’t lead us to fear. 

Colossians 2 is a chapter that focuses on how we’ve been built up through Christ. Paul talks about how we can and should be rooted in Him so we can grow in faith, knowledge, and gratitude. He goes on to explain that we’ve been made complete in Christ and that it’s through Him that we’re forgiven.

And right in the middle of all those reminders and encouragement, Paul reminds us that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross also completely disarmed our enemy. 

Just like for the children in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, we can be confident of our King’s victory, but for us, our enemy’s defeat isn’t a matter of prophecy. It’s a matter of history. 

That is such wonderful, beautiful news! But we also know from experience that the enemy hasn’t given up on doing as much damage as he can on his way out. This means we still have to be prepared, so here are a few quick and easy ways that we can begin to prepare for battle without losing our joy to the fear of what’s to come.

1. Put on the Armor of God daily through prayer and meditation. Make it a practice to reflect on each piece and ask for God’s help in covering ourselves with His Armor daily.
2. Make sure we’re surrounded with the truth that Christ has already won the victory. You can do this by memorizing Scripture, putting verses like Colossians 2:15 around your house, or setting it as your phone’s wallpaper.
3. A foundational part of our faith is remembering what God has done, so find ways to remind yourself of why we can be confident in Christ’s victory and His work in our lives. That confidence, grounded in His work rather than our abilities, can be a deep, unshakable well of peace and rest when we find ourselves in the middle of a battle.

This week, I pray we’ll be more prepared for the battles to come and more confident and hopeful about the outcome than ever before. We won’t be done facing battles with the enemy until we find ourselves in the presence of Christ, but it isn’t our Savior’s will that we either approach or avoid the subject out of fear, so let’s be bold and confidently prepare!