Unseen Realities

<p>In 1876, men drilling for coal in central Indiana thought they had found the gates of hell. Historian John Barlow Martin reports that at six hundred feet, &ldquo;foul fumes issued forth amid awesome noises.&rdquo; Afraid they had &ldquo;bitten into the roof of the devil&rsquo;s cave,&rdquo; the miners plugged the well and scurried back to their homes.</p> <p>The miners, of course, were mistaken &mdash; and some years later, they would drill again and be rich in natural gas. Even though they were mistaken, I find myself a little jealous of them. These miners lived with an awareness of the spiritual world that is often missing from my own life. It&rsquo;s easy for me to live as if the supernatural and the natural rarely intersect and to forget that &ldquo;our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but . . . against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms&rdquo; (Ephesians 6:12).</p> <p>When we see evil winning in our world, we shouldn&rsquo;t give in or try to fight it in our own strength. Instead, we are to resist evil by putting on &ldquo;the full armor of God&rdquo; (vv. 13-18). Studying Scripture, meeting regularly with other Christians for encouragement, and making choices with the good of others in mind can help us &ldquo;stand against the schemes of the devil&rdquo; (v. 11). Equipped by the Holy Spirit, we can able to stand firm in the face of anything (v. 13).</p>