Today's Devotional

December 18, 2002

Subject:  A Preemptive Strike 

James 4:7 - "Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

Ephesians 6:17-18 - "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;" 

Over the years our national defense strategy has evolved to today's current concept of preemption.  Previously, it was a strategy of deterrence.  If you can understand the difference in those two terms, then you will understand that God has always had us equipped for both of these concepts.

Deterrence basically means that we take preventive measures so that the enemy wouldn't even think about attacking us.  That's what God says too in the James passage above.  We can make the enemy, Satan, flee by resisting him.  If he's fleeing, he's not attacking.  Of course we've got to recognize the enemy in order to do that, but that's the strategy of deterrence.

Preemption means we strike first to prevent the enemy from potentially causing us much greater harm later. The Ephesians passage shows how we go on the offensive.  First we must take the word of God, which is our battle plan.  Then, knowing the plan, we should constantly communicate with the "Commander-in-Chief", to understand how it applies in our AOR (area of responsibility), and our friendlies (other saints).  When we spend time in prayer, we have taken a preemptive strike against the forces of darkness.  Often you can even hear the impact, because it often results in immediate retaliation from the enemy.  However, we must not be afraid of that retaliation and continue to stand strong against the attack and he will eventually flee.  If we don't pray, it's equivalent to being in a war with no leader and no plan.  How successful would that be?

Being equipped with right weaponry and resisting the enemy are two fundamental strategies that together yield victory for us as believers.

Carlen