Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!
—1 Samuel 17:46
David was only a youth when he stood before Goliath and declared these powerful words to him. You don’t just threaten a giant with such words in the heat of battle without great confidence. But David’s words radiated His confidence. He did not speak a simple warning. He spoke a mighty promise to the giant. David knew His God. He knew His strength, and He trusted in God to deliver him. David acted on his words. Facing the taunting giant, he brought him down with his sling. Then he ran to the fallen enemy, used Goliath’s own weapon, and cut off his head. He finished what He had declared to Goliath.
Do we have such confident faith to declare similar words to Satan who taunts us? Do we follow through on what we declare to him?
We cannot relinquish the authority Jesus has given us. The peace we have in Jesus—our righteousness in Him—is our victory over the works of the enemy. This means we can trust God and rest in the authority which is ours in Jesus. We cannot waiver from the authority we have been given. We either have confident faith in the power of Jesus’ finished work for us, or we just hope that His finished work will give us victory. “Maybe” has no power over the enemy.
We must understand that even though we live in this world, we are not of this world, nor do we wage war as man does (2 Corinthians 10:3). Our battle is against spiritual forces in heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). Our confident faith in God’s resurrection power declares our righteousness. It gives us a powerful inheritance.
A large part of our inheritance is that we can operate in the authority Jesus has given us (Luke 10:19). We don’t have to wage war in our own strength and knowledge or live our lives based on man’s standards. We have God’s strength. We have His Word and knowledge. We have the tools we need to fight. We can declare a resurrection “NO” to the enemy, and resist him.
The war between good and evil is not over in this world. But in the spiritual realm, the war is over. It is forever finished through the blood of Christ! When Jesus took His last breath, the Law, which had given sin its power, no longer had any power to determine our standing with God. What had been the rule of Law became a relationship in Christ. Jesus, who knew no sin, became our sin so we could receive His righteousness. Sin, sickness, fear, all the lies of the enemy, and the sting of death were destroyed once and for all (I Corinthians 15:56, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 7:27; 10:10).
Jesus descended into hell to take the keys from the enemy. Like David’s final blow to Goliath, Jesus struck the final blow to the devil. Don’t judge your life by what you see in this world or by what you hear. Look into the spiritual realm. In God's realm, the war is won. The enemy is defeated once and for all. He has no authority. He has no power unless our flesh allows him into our circumstances and our lives.
Will we wield that sling? Will we exercise confident faith in our Father? Will we stand strong in His peace—in our relationship with Him, not shrink back in fear, and allow Him to fight our battles? Distractions and taunts will come. Questions will rise up. Will we choose our authority bought with the precious blood of Jesus and continually walk in it?
Declare your confidence to the enemy. Trust God. Keep your mind fixed on Him and not the battle. Allow the devil to have no power in your life! He came into the battle already defeated and not knowing it. Remind him. Put him in his place. Cut off his head!
Is this the confidence you have? When you know that His righteousness is your righteousness, you surrender your strength to receive His strength. You know you have a relationship with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. No weapon formed against you shall prosper. You shall condemn every lie that rises against you (Isaiah 54:17).
Jesus’ work is finished. But you choose to allow Him to finish His work in you. Have confident faith in the One who redeemed you. Take the authority that is yours. Declare your confidence in God, and follow through in faith. Render the enemy who comes to steal, kill, and destroy, powerless in your life. Again and again and again.
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