God the Creator - a journal on Calvin's Institutes book 1 ch xvi

This piece is particularly disturbing. I did not expect Calvin to go on and on about angels and demons. I have not spent a lot of time in thought of the creation beyond this world, specifically angels and demons. Going through this portion of Calvin’s writings has made me think a lot about the spiritual realm.
Timothy Kooiman spoke at GIFT last year. His topic was demons and he spoke with undeniable authority about the power of demons; ideas altogether forgotten about in many lives today. He spoke about a time as an RA that he spent praying over each room during training, and how he felt an evil spirit looming inside of a room. Tim struggled immensely with this room. I had the pleasure of serving with Tim during this year, and this fact opened my eyes to the devastating truth of demons and the power they hold.
Calvin writes, “and Christ bears witness that usually after a demon has once been cast out, if you make room for him again, he will take with him seven spirits more wicked than he and return to his empty possession. Indeed, a whole legion is said to have assailed one man.”
Although the devil stands under the power of God, and although we are assured of victory through Christ, the devil, I am convinced, is evident in our lives through every avenue available. Demons swell around us and often consume. The spiritual battle that awaits us is strong; legions wait.
I am amazed at the powers that unconsciously consume us, the slightest of things that unbalance our walk opportune demons. And here is the extreme danger. While we pray for redemption we have not allowed Christ to fully satisfy, and, thus, the “legions” that Calvin speaks of have overwhelmed most; and we are now claiming life but are spiritually blind and choked.
We have forgotten the spiritual battle that we are obligated to because of our own fall. I am reminded of this in every aspect of trying to live as a Christian. Even in the simplest of things that we could do, such as worship, our greatest calling, the devil has conformed it for his glory by causing us to be so ostentatious through it. We are marionettes attached to strings tugged by powers that are not godly.
Calvin lets us know that these powers are subject to God’s authority. We are assured of victory, this is true. But we have not turned away from the ungodly powers, rather, we have become subject to them blindly. Without realization we are faithful to beasts. Wickedness foams from our mouths and we speak poison.
How do we assure ourselves of the victory when we so often miss how the legions have consumed us?