Be Ready

Our Daily Bread

 

“’If I had 8 hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend 6 sharpening my axe,’ said Abraham Lincoln. […]  The Bible tells us we must prepare ourselves spiritually […] We do that by putting on spiritual armor to protect ourselves from spiritual attack (Eph. 6:10-20); by preparing our minds for holy living (1 Peter 1:13); by making sure we’re always prepared to answer questions about the reason for the hope we possess (3:15); and by ensuring that we are ready for the promised return of Jesus (Matt. 24:44).” Cindy Hess Kasper

 

How do you prepare for the day ahead of you? For the challenges that you are certain to face.  Very often we encounter situations in our day that catch us off guard, that challenge our faith or our spirituality, that provide an opportunity for our flesh to rise up in response.  Are you prepared for it.. or do you  fall victim to it?  It's like walking into a spiritual or relational ambush.

 

Bear with me while I talk about ambushes for a moment.  (Seem like an odd topic for a devotion?) There is something called the ‘kill zone’ in an ambush.  The ‘kill zone’ is a designated area where the lethality all of the weapons of the ambushers is focused.  Anyone who enters the ‘kill zone’, is by definition – killed. Unless of course those being ambushed do something totally unexpected …. They charge the guns .… The only way to survive an ambush when you are in the kill zone is to charge the guns .. to become the attacker.  But obviously the best way to survive is to avoid the ambush all together, but very often you are in one before you know it.  (That is why they call it a surprise attack) Some years ago, during a training exercise, I was leading a patrol.  Using the map, I charted what I thought to be the best course to follow.  In doing that I unknowingly, but successfully, bypassed an ambush that had been set up along the route that most easily followed.  The idea was to test our response to a surprise attack from the opposing force.  There is a saying in the Army “You fight the way you train.” In other words, if you don’t train for it, don’t expect magic to happen when the ‘it’ happens to you.

 

So it is with our daily spiritual walk.  1 Peter 5:8  ‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.’  We must be ready and properly equipped to live this new life successfully … if we are not alert.. we can’t expect to avoid the inevitable ambushes of life.   And when we find ourselves in the ‘kill zone’  … we cannot charge the guns if we are not armed … … if we have not prepared ourselves for such an eventuality.

 

What are you doing to keep your axe sharp?  Spend time reading the Word of God ..take the opportunity talk to your Father .. and let your light shine.

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)