As we navigate through the journey of life, battles often present themselves. We mind our own business, serve God faithfully, tithe every Sunday, yet somehow adversity finds us. And before we realize it, we have just stepped onto a battlefield. As we quickly scan our opposition, we allow fear to whisper you aren’t strong enough, you aren’t fast enough, and you will never win. And because of that, we decide to run.
You see, that’s the problem – running. We have become accustomed to running and avoiding things. Because if we can avoid something, then it’ll just go away on its own, right?
I have learned that the more I avoid the battles, the less I live in victory. And as I continue to run from things, I hand over the power to my opponent.
Our opponent (the enemy) does not want to see us win. In fact, he plots our defeat by studying our every move and working behind the scenes. His attacks are often subtle, making it easy for us to fall for his schemes. And as he works his way into our situations, he begins to chip away at our rich and satisfying life- the life that God intended for us. If we aren’t prepared, we can end up in a place of defeat. He would love to see us defeated because when we’re defeated, we get discouraged. And when we are discouraged, we doubt. And when we doubt, we delay the blessings of God. And at this point, the enemy has done his job…he has deceived us.
But Mordecai wasn’t deceived. He took a stand, and refused to bow down to Haman even though everyone else was doing it. Haman became so angry over Mordecai’s disobedience that he began to plot Mordecai’s death. After learning Mordecai’s nationality, Haman decided it was not enough to lay hands on him alone. Instead, he looked for a way to destroy all the Jews throughout the entire empire of Xerxes (Esther 3:2-6).
What does this mean?
As we stand tall, refusing to bow our knees to the things of this world, there is an enemy who is not happy. In his anger he plots the death of our families, children, the church, and the nation.
But thankfully, we have a strategy to fight back!
- We have the power to defeat the enemy by the blood of Jesus and by the word of our testimony. (Revelation 12:11)
- As we humble ourselves before God, we become stronger, giving us the power to resist the devil. And as we resist the devil, he will flee. (James 4:7)
- Don’t be controlled by anger, or let the sun go down while you’re still angry, because anger will give a foothold to the devil. (Ephesians 4:26-27)
- As we share in Christ’s suffering, we also share in His glory. And because we are children of God, we are heirs of his glory. (Romans 8:17)
When weapons are formed against us, we have the power and authority to say, you will not prosper! And as we build up a resistance, we become unstoppable.