(unmarked journal entry, presumably from matthew 4:1-11)

we have to be prepared.

when in the course of human events, we run into great temptation, we have to be prepared. temptation is inevitable. it happens daily, and leads to compromises and downfalls. the Word of God is a great shield and sword for us when we find ourselves faced with these daily struggles for our souls.

the devil knows just where to strike & why. he knows the impulses that breed in the darkness of our hearts, and we must be ready to do battle when these times come. when he swings with pride, we must answer back with humility in our hearts. when he strikes with selfish motives, we return the blow with generosity. when he strikes with fear and doubt, we parry back with comfort and reassurance.

but again, if we are to make these return blows, we must be prepared. the Word of God must drip from our mouths. it must fly effortlessly from our lips. we have to be prepared by being familiar, intimately familiar with the greatest love letter ever written. we must have the Word of the LORD in our hearts so we do not sin against God.

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(sidebar)

the boy scout motto is ‘be prepared.’ which makes sense, because they are probably going out into situations where a lack of preparedness can get you hurt or harmed. their tasks of gathering resources, ‘roughing it,’ and helping others are going to lead them down many different paths, each with their own obstacles. but a good boy scout knows that these tasks can be accomplished if they have the right tools and resources available…so  they need to ‘be prepared.’

our Christian walks involve so much more than carrying around a pocket knife and having an extra length of rope handy for the trusty sheep shank knot. there is no set of skills that we can develop on our own to help us get through the tasks God lays out before us. there are no qualities that we can bring to the fight that supplant the need for God’s hand to be at work.

we have not been entrusted with tasks and duties that we can accomplish on our own, and if we are trying to just push through by the power that we have within ourselves to accomplish something, then that something will either fail, stall out or become corrupted by our own bad and selfish motives.

we don’t just trust God to set a task before us. we also trust Him to help us complete the task. we run according to his strength and His power and His Will, so that nothing we do is born of our own efforts. we are seeking glory for God here, not ourselves. and i, for one, don’t want to live a life that has been planned out and powered by my own efforts. what a boring existence that would be…

but rather, in your hearts, set aside Christ Jesus as LORD, so that the temptations of the evil one do not overcome you, relying on the power of God to bring you through to the completion of the task set before you.