Recently, the news headlines were "how to prepare for an attack." Of course, they were referring to a terrorist attack, but how do we prepare for attacks spiritually?
When some of the Jews returned back to their home after their captivity, they faced a lot of opposition. They were determined to rebuild the walls of their city. And their enemies were determined to stop them. They faced constant mocking and attacks, but they did not give up. So how did they continue to build? How did they continue on in the Lord's work?
Nehemiah 4:16-18 says
"So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah. Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon. Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me."
Try to imagine that! While they were building, some worked with one hand and held a weapon in the other. They were prepared to build and to fight at the same time. Their hearts and minds were set on the Lord and nothing nor no one could stop them.
A lot of times spiritually we build busily for the Lord, but somehow we forget that the enemy wants to stop us and is determined to do so.
We build dangerously without our armor or our weapon which is the Word of God.
The moment we stop praying and put our sword down, a huge target appears on our backs. Our enemy waits for an opportune time to attack and we must be ready.
As followers of Christ, we should not be shocked when attacks come. If we are doing the Lord's work, we should expect them and be ready with our armor and sword. The sword of the Spirit is the only part of the armor that is used to fight. Everything else is protective gear. Jesus Himself fought off satan with the Word. When He was tempted, He replied with "it is written" over and over again. The Lord has given us everything we need and more.
Nehemiah 4:20 says "Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us."
Our Lord and Savior is for us and if He is for us, who can be against us?!
We must be aware of the schemes of our enemy. No army goes into battle without a plan and knowing the strategy of their enemy.
We know that satan's very name means "one who separates." We should be on guard, he wants to separate us from our spouse, he wants to separate our children from the Lord and he most definitely wants to separate us from doing the will of God in our lives.
Enough is enough! The enemy cannot have our marriages nor our children. We will not sit down in defeat. We will continue to work and build up the kingdom of God until Jesus returns. Now is the time to seek the Lord, to pray, to study His Word, to listen for His voice and to obey Him. While we build with one hand, our Sword which is the Word of God will be in our other hand.
