The solider walked his patrol, sweat streaming from his face in the desert sun. He was constantly on the alert for danger, for danger lingered in every home, every building, every street corner, in every face. His enemy was not like him. His enemy did not dress in the garb of a soldier. His enemy was in every face from the young boy walking home from school to the old man shuffling along the street. His enemy hid in plain sight. Along with the stress of being thousands of miles from home and family, he had the stress of wondering from where the next attack would come. The physical rigors of being a soldier were nothing compared the mental fatigue he endured from being on constant alert.
We, as Christians, have much in common with the soldier, for we are soldiers in God's army. The enemy, Satan, attacks us from every front - family, friends, strangers, and even our own thoughts. His sole purpose is to undermine our faith and cause dissension in our lives by any means necessary. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:11-12). We face a battle each and every day we are on this earth to live in this world and walk in the steps of Jesus. The devil fights us every moment, on every level. However, just as the soldier is protected with firearms and protective clothing, so we, too, have armor to withstand the wiles of the devil. “Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Eph 6:13). We have the King of Kings to protect our mind, our heart, and our soul. We do not fight alone.
And, yet, sometimes it seems more and more difficult to stand. We must remember our Redeemer lives and choose to trust in Him for deliverance. God promised that if we resist the devil, he will flee. However, the devil cloaks himself in ways we often think is harmless. We listen to and repeat gossip; we find ourselves not doing good when we know to do good; we don't pray or study our Bible enough. It is these essential parts of life we forget. We put life before God, forgetting it is through Him we have life. The days are becoming darker and increasingly evil. We must prepare for battle daily. Although we often become weary of constantly fighting, we know who wins the war.  There are those we come into contact every day who do not realize the war raging for their souls. They have no armor to protect themselves. Share your armor … let us help one another see the glorious day approaching when the war is won and there will be no more fighting.
Will you be on the victor's side? Or will you allow the devil to win the battle for your soul?