June 27 - In the Day of Battle

The fight is on once we become children of God, moving from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of light, from the power of the enemy into the rule of God our King. God’s purpose is to bring heaven on earth while the devil’s goal is to bring hell on earth and increase the population of hell. Between the two very different agendas, Christians are kind of caught in the middle, trying to stay under God’s protection while fighting the battle with Satan.

The psalmist here asks God for protection and deliverance, he is in the day of battle. While Satan is a spirit being, he uses other human beings to attack the children of God. We must be aware of the schemes of the enemy in order to win the victory. The psalmist sees different kinds of people that are used by the enemy to attack him: the evil men, the violent men, the wicked, the arrogant and the slanderer. These people are not our enemies but they are used by Satan to attack us.

The usual paths of attack are using words to hurt, to bring out the venom so as to poison us, to plan traps for us, to spread out a net so that we would fall, to tempt us so that we would fall into sin. In a word, they are plotting for our downfall. When we are facing these attacks, fear may paralyze us. The enemy tries to intimidate us so that we would be taken out of commission. Like the verse in Proverbs which says, “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.” When we are afraid, we would take cover and hide in a corner or in a hole for protection. Once we retreat from the front, we isolate ourselves and can only think of ourselves. All our judgments would be unsound.

The plea of the psalmist is to ask God to cover his head in the day of battle. God protects our most important body part so that the enemy cannot harm us. The Lord came to Paul in a night vision while he was in Corinth, fighting a severe spiritual battle with the enemy. The Lord said, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are My people.” So Paul stayed a year and six months there, teaching the Word of God among them. This happened even before the united Jewish attack on Paul before Gallio, the proconsul of Achaia.

Do you feel that you are under attack most of the time? Is it difficult to be a true believer of Jesus Christ? Are there evil forces that are coming against you? Do others attack you for no reason? Are you tempted to withdraw and hide? If so you are in the day of battle. Ask God now to cover your head, put on the armor of God and fight daily the schemes of the enemy. Remember, people are not your enemy but Satan is. Fight him with other believers in prayer, Christ has already won the victory!