"Put on the full armor of God
so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." (Eph 6:11 NIV)
Did you notice that the first word of advice from the
apostle Paul against the attacks from the "devil's schemes" is to "stand"?
According to our tour guide at the Royal Albatross
Centre in Dunedin, New Zealand, this is exactly what Dr. L.E. Richdale did in
1938.
Albatross eggs are vulnerable to predators, both of
the animal and of the human-kind, and because albatross can only lay one egg per
year, a vandalized egg means that the next generation of albatross will be
smaller in number than the current one. Dr Richdale was tired of finding
albatross eggs damaged by rocks that were thrown by humans, so the next time he
found an
undamaged albatross egg, he set up camp next to it, watching over it day and
night, until the egg hatched. And even after that glorious event, he continued
to watch over the albatross hatchling. This eventually led to the protection of
all albatross eggs in the albatross colony near Dunedin, and the stand Dr.
Richdale took to save the albatross led to survival of the specie in his region.
We, too, fall as easy prey to the evil one, and
therefore, we are told to stand. This is actually part of our fight. If there is
no standing, there is no victory, and we will find ourselves deflated and
discouraged.
But what does it really mean to stand?
The Greek word for "resisting" is "anthistemi" and is
derived from the word "stand" "histemi". Therefore, "to stand" means to resist!
Interestingly, this advice is encouraged all over the
New Testament: "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil,
and he will flee from you." (James 4:7 NIV)
"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil
prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist
him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers
throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings." (1 Peter 5:8-9
NIV)
In other words, standing means to refuse to give in.
It's easy to say, but unfortunately it's hardly ever
done these days. Is it possible that we have forgotten how much greater Jesus is
than the evil one? "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them,
because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." (1
John 4:4 NIV) Have we started doubting that He did indeed overcome the "one who
is in the world"?
Remember, our only duty is to stand firm! Defeating
the devil is Jesus' part!
But what do we do while we stand? We pray: "And pray
in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." (Eph
6:18 NIV)
Have you noticed that in our spiritual battles, our
biggest areas of weakness lie in not standing firm? In not praying? In not
relying on God's Spirit and His Word? By neglecting these very things that lead
to our victory, we are giving in to the devil's scheme, which is to hinder us
from establishing an intimate relationship with our Creator and Saviour!
Oh yes, we live at a time in history where rushing
around, huffing and puffing is the norm, where we are so busy that oftentimes we
forget we even have a family! But is it possible that this is a distraction to
keep us from finding time to be with God, which ultimately will lead to our
victorious living?
God cannot defend the defenseless if we don't do our
part. Just as a soldier is doomed if he is neither standing firm against the
enemy, nor communicating with his headquarters, nor reading the messages sent
from there, we are deciding our fate by not relying completely on the One who is
"greater than the one who is in the world".
Would you like to stand with me? The enemy is
ferocious, you know (See 1 Peter 5:8)!
Would you like some eggs for breakfast? I found some
big ones just down the road!
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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