“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
We are in a spiritual battle. We fight a ruthless opponent. He’ll hide in the shadows to catch us unaware, but pounce he will, when the time is right. We are, however, protected by the strongest victor there ever will be. We aren’t promised an easy pass in life, but we are promised that while enduring the onslaught of the enemy, we will have peace and grace and comfort and assurance of His goodness. Even if our body should perish, our soul lives on. That is the final victory. The defeat of death. Our final foe. But, until then, we have many battles to fight.
My cat is a mighty huntress. She guards her home from many pests. She doesn’t back down, and she chases critters that I’d deem big and scary compared to her stature.
One evening my husband and I were sitting outside around dusk. Our chairs were facing away from the waterfall. The cat began stalking something. We made a few guesses on what her poor victim was, and we were both surprised. She stalked and pounced and advanced until she was on the clearing of the waterfall. We both watched as a small snake skittered back to strike at her. She batted at it, and it hastened to a quick fall over the edge of the waterfall which ended in a loud thud.
This picture has stayed with me in vivid detail for weeks. One reason is probably because I find snakes icky. They bother me. The other reason is probably because it was such a potent analogy spiritual warfare.
My cat was lounging around when she noticed this snake in the grass right next to us. She jumped into action chasing it off her territory. When it fought back, she didn’t cower but instead made her final assault and shooed it far away.
Isn’t that reminiscent of our lives? We are minding our own business when the devil sends an attack, assault, or temptation our way that he’d been hiding in the shadows until he thought we were vulnerable enough to crumple under it. If we are in the right place spiritually, we are able to recognize the threat and chase it off, but if we aren’t ready, things will get dicey fast.
After that experience, I have paid closer attention to all the evidence my cat leaves of her “fights”. Many battles won line my driveway, which means she’s ready for the fight and is victorious.
This also made me think back on some of my spiritual fights and consider the many victories I’ve had because God has equipped me to fight them the right way, by letting Him fight for me, by staying in His Word, by living His truth, by accepting His strength as my own, and by being patient.
“So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.” Gensis 3:14
