The Never Ending Battle

We face a never ending battle and we have to prepare ourselves for that battle.  What am I talking about?  Read this.

Luke 4:13(NKJV)

13Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

This verse is from Luke's description of the temptation of Jesus by the devil.  The last part is what caught my eye.  After tempting Jesus without success the devil left Jesus but was waiting for a more opportune time.  He didn't give up.  He never gives up!

Is it any different for us?  I don't think so.  When we are strong in our faith, while the devil may tempt us, it is more of a probing temptation vs. a full on frontal assault.  What the devil is looking for is a "more opportune time" for that full on attack. 

We all go through ups and downs in life.  Generally the devil is going to see his best opportunities during those down times when our faith is being tested.  How do we guard against that?  Couple things.

First accept Jesus as the Lord of your Life.  Let Jesus be your personal bodyguard.  Have you asked Jesus into your life yet?  Why not do it right now?  Just have a conversation with Jesus.  Share with Him what you are looking for or needing.  "Dear Jesus….".

The next thing you can do is stay in the Word and pray on a daily basis.  I know life gets busy but you have to be disciplined.  Are you going to be able to be in the Word every single day?  Of course not.  We are all human and life happens.  The thing you have to guard against is letting one missed day lead to two missed days, and pretty soon it's been a week since you opened your Bible.  Don't let that happen.

The Bible speaks of putting on the armor of God.  Just think of the time you spend with God each day as the time you are putting on that armor!