Impenetrable
We’ve all seen sci-fi movies where the bad guy has an impenetrable shield around him, and no amount of laser beams impact it. We run.
Psalm 5 has great encouragement for the child of God, including “favor like a shield” surrounding the righteous man (v12). We don’t have to run because vicariously we’ve already won the war against evil through Jesus’ death and resurrection. It’s the forces of darkness, led by Satan, that need to fear the future they face. We know Satan knows Scripture because he tried to twist it to tempt Jesus as He was beginning His ministry. So he knows the end that awaits him. That doesn’t stop him from trying to bring as many as he can to destruction with him.
How should knowing that God
has our “six” as well as our three, nine, and twelve, motivate us to stay in the game? Isn’t it a bit like having a secret weapon that our enemy doesn’t know about, that protects us on all sides? When you think of heroes, what is it that sets them apart from the crowd? I believe it’s their willingness to continue their mission despite odds that seem to favor the enemy.
We know that our enemy seeks to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10). And he’ll do anything he can to steal our joy, kill our commitment, and destroy our testimony. If he can’t dissuade us from living godly, he tries to switch our focus to temporal shiny things that offer immediate pleasure. See warnings in Luke 8:14, 2Thess 2:12, 2 Tim 3:4, Heb 11:25, James 4:3, 5:5, 2 Pet 2:13.
How do we prepare for the onslaught of temptations
from a wily adversary? Psalm 5 has the answer. “Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my groaning. Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.” (v.1-3). When we start our day with prayer, knowing that God hears each one, expecting Him to answer, and remembering that we have the power of the Holy Spirit living in us, we just need to “move out” and leave the results to God.