The term enemy territory refers to any area of land that belongs to or is currently occupied and controlled by an opposing military power. I grew up during the Vietnam War. Our soldiers were fighting on foreign soil. The enemy was primarily North Vietnam, but there were other areas the Viet Cong controlled that featured intense guerrilla tactics, underground tunnels, and covert infiltration areas. This made it difficult to know exactly who your enemy was and where they were. Our military had to consider the entire region as enemy territory because the enemy used children, women, and any means they could think of to infiltrate and destroy our soldiers. While the Viet Cong was a very threatening enemy, we have an enemy that is worse than the Viet Cong. Our greatest enemy is Satan! Unfortunately, we are always in enemy territory in this world.
In John 12:31, Jesus proclaims that our enemy is the prince of this world. In Ephesians 2:2, Paul describes him as the prince of the air, and his spirit works in the children of disobedience. Paul also teaches us in Ephesians 6:11-12 that we must put on the whole armor of God, our military attire, to fight the devil.
John 12:31 “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.”
Ephesians 2:2 “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.”
Ephesians 6:11-12 “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
In I Thessalonians 2:17, Paul expresses his desire to be with the church in Thessalonica. He feels torn away from them. He so deeply desires to be with them in person, but lets them know that his heart is with them. His love is so deep that he is bereaved because he is physically separated from them. This kind of love is not a surface love. His heart is longing for them and their welfare. He prays for and yearns for their spiritual growth.
I Thessalonians 2:17 “But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored the more abundantly to see your face with great desire.”
So why is he not with them? He tells them in verse 18 that Satan hindered him. He put forth great effort to go to them, but he continued to face obstacles and opposition that he knew were orchestrated by Satan himself. Paul knew what was happening, and we need to understand that when we are doing God’s work, we will face opposition. Sometimes Christians quit because they think delays, roadblocks, and failures are signs that they are not in God’s will. Sometimes that may be true, but often it is evidence that we are threatening the enemy’s territory. God is ready to do something, and Satan is pulling out all stops to hinder His work.
I Thessalonians 2:18 “Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.”
Paul continues in verse 18 to say that his joy or crown of rejoicing is not in his abilities or in the churches he built, but it is in the people he influenced for Christ. He looks at the eternal perspective, as I like to call it, he zooms out to see the big picture. He is thinking ahead of what it will be like when Jesus returns, and he sees all those people he served in the name of Jesus in Heaven one day.
I Thessalonians 2:19-20 “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy.”
Paul served faithfully against the enemy and for the Master. He did not quit because he was in enemy territory. He knew from the beginning of his walk with Jesus that it would be difficult. He knew full well about the persecution of Christians because he was once a persecutor of Christians. Yet, he continued working and waiting for the return of Christ or his death. He kept his eyes on the prize of eternal life. When we feel discouraged by roadblocks or delays in our work for the Lord, or in our parenting or relationships, we must remember that through Christ we can overcome the enemy. We must focus on people because, while behind enemy lines, our mission is to influence and win as many people to God as we possibly can. Paul gets it! It is not about the things of this world, but the lives we invest in. We can infiltrate the enemy camp and win the war because “greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.”
I John 4:4 “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
