The First Step to Victory

It seems like the whole world is talking war: from conflicts in the Middle East, to skirmishes with Russia, to the threats from North Korea. You don’t have to know very much about current events to be aware of it.

It’s interesting, then, that in our everyday lives we tend to act as though we have no enemies.

It wasn’t always that way. By my count, there are about a hundred references to “enemy” or “enemies” in the Psalms. While we think of the book of Psalms as a songbook or a book of worship—which it undoubtedly is—there are many psalms filled with laments by King David appealing for divine help and salvation from adversaries.

He was certainly aware of his enemies! Okay, so we don’t find ourselves in the same kinds of situations as he did. I don’t remember ever spending a night in a cave hiding from danger, for example.

But have you ever felt that way? I definitely have.

The Bible is pretty clear that we do have an enemy: Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

But most of us go through our days completely unaware of any strategies aimed against us. This doesn’t stop the enemy from attacking! We’re often ambushed by an enemy we didn’t see coming.

Just as the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, the first step to victory is admitting there is an enemy—and there is a battle going on.

On the face of things, this is pretty bad news. So where is hope?

Hope is in the fact that our Commander has identified our enemy for us. He’s the one who told us to stay alert. And he’s been studying the enemy’s tactics for a long time now. He tells us the enemy doesn’t need to outsmart us. Indeed, we can be “familiar with his evil schemes” 2 Corinthians 2:11.

Take heart. We have weapons and we can understand how to use them (Ephesians 6).

No matter what you’re facing today, take the first step to victory.

 

Leave a comment and let me know. Are you aware of an enemy at work in your life?