Battle ready

Tucked away at the end of Genesis 4:26 are these words: “At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.” So, what does it mean to “call upon the name of the LORD?” I believe this phrase is synonymous with worship—expressing God’s greatness and worthiness with our lips and our lives. Notice that the name for God used here, “the LORD,” is Yahweh, the personal, approachable God.

In today’s passage, Paul describes the battle gear we must wear to stay battle-ready. He says, “…Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm” (Eph. 6:13).

Today, I want us to recognize that the spiritual battle is all around us, even in places we can’t perceive.  

So, how do we rule over sin? Today, let’s consider a showdown in the desert between Satan and Jesus and examine how Jesus responded to the great deceiver.

When we study God’s story in God’s people, we must recognize that there is an enemy out to destroy us. We will see his work in the people and events in God’s story, and we experience it every day in our lives.

Satan appeared in the garden and, using a snake as a tool, convinced Eve that God was holding out on her (Gen. 3:1-7). Because of Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God, sin saturated the human heart.

In our Battle Ready study, we have learned of four anchors that are foundational in all our spiritual battles. Let’s review those anchors.

The greatest weapon in the spiritual battle is prayer—talking with God. We can only be strong in the strength of his might. And that strength comes when we are in conversation with the One in charge of the battle. Even when we are all buckled up in our battle gear, we must hear the voice of the Sovereign Commander. He is the only One who brings the victory.

I recently watched a game where one team’s best player could not participate. His injuries kept him out of the action. The cameras showed him pacing up and down, cheering from the sidelines, but unable to go out on the field. His skills were missed, and his team ended up losing the game. The enemy knows he can’t take us off God’s team, but he can sideline us. He can’t separate us from God’s love, but he can render us ineffective. Satan is always working to put us on the injured reserve list.