“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
Ephesians 6:16
Today is Patriot Day, and I am reminded of the spiritual lessons I am learning from this war on terror. Terrorism is a devilish kind of warfare. Terrorist groups know they could never stand toe-to-toe against a power like the United States because they would be outgunned, outmanned, and outmaneuvered. So what do terrorist organizations do? They throw hand grenades here, take sniper shots there, and they hijack and hold hostage. It’s not conventional warfare. They know they would lose if they ever went one-on-one against coalition forces.
Terrorism spreads fear and chips away at our resolve until we become demoralized. When that happens, good people cave in. We make appeasements, all in the name of being left alone. Just leave us alone. Go away!
The devil fights like that. He knows he would lose if ever he went directly up against God. He’d be outmaneuvered by the Almighty and he knows it. So what does our adversary do? He gets at God by needling us. He takes potshots at our peace of heart, and fires off shots of discouragement or frustration. He throws hand grenades into our joy and robs us of our confidence in the Lord. The devil doesn’t come out with guns blazing. He pricks at us with fiery darts and spreads fear and terror, little by little, until we make appeasements. We compromise our testimony — just sinning a little — hoping that the devil will quit bugging us and leave us alone.
Christians must remain focused against the devil. His goal is to demoralize and defeat us by guerrilla warfare. Ephesians 6:16, however, gives great advice. Christian, take faith! The war has been won! So please don’t let the daily battle wear you down. Terrorism must not win… and it won’t!
Captain of the Lord’s Army, I take my shield of faith and sword of the Spirit today. Fit me for battle against the forces of darkness. Be my victory, O Lord!
