"The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming,
but on our own readiness to receive him;
Not on the chance of his not attacking,
but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable."
- Sun Tzu
Yesterday we realized the importance of the principle, "Never Underestimate Your Enemy." Today I will say that the opposite is also true: never OVERestimate your enemy either. Remember, success requires that we walk in the truth, and what is the truth? Truth is simply, reality. Honesty. Calling things what they are. So while it may be true that my enemy is strong and able to "overpower me," that does not mean he has "power over" me.
He might be able to you overpower you, but he does not have power over you...unless you give it.
If you haven't done so yet, name them. Name your opponents. Maybe your enemy is fear. Maybe it is anger. Maybe it is lack of trust, gossip, a lying tongue, pride, jealousy, greed, lust, unhealthy or destructive habits. Maybe, if you're like me, you have a whole string of opponents lining up one by one to take you down. Though these opponents may have the strength to overpower you, but they do not have to have power over you. They only have the power you give them.
In Matthew 4:1-11, when Jesus was being tempted by Satan in the wilderness, Satan tried to take power over Jesus. How did he attempt this? By telling Jesus to do four things:
1. Forget Who Your Father Is ("If you are the Son of God...")
2. Take Matters Into Your Own Hands ("...tell these stones to become bread.")
3. Throw Yourself Down
4. Bow to me
Do you see it? The only power Satan had was the ability to influence Jesus to give up or give in. He had to get Jesus to concede HIS strength in order to have the ability to overpower Him. You are stronger than you think.
"IF you are the Son of God..."
Today, know who your Father is. IF you are a son or daughter of God, THEN the enemy has no power over you; he can only overpower you when:
You forget who you are and whose you are.
You try to take matters into your own hands rather than walking in God's time and God's way.
You throw yourself down (give up or give in).
You bow to the enemy, letting him become your master.
Jesus told us that if we are going to enter His kingdom, we must become like little children. One thing that kids LOVE to say is, "You're not the boss of me!" Or even better, "You can't tell me what to do. You're not my father!" Today, when the enemy tries to sneak up and lure us to bow, to concede our strength and authority as sons and daughters of God, let us fight with the guts of a child and remind him:
"You're not the boss of me. You can't tell me what to do. You're not my Father."
If you are feeling weary, weak and overpowered today, rest in the strength of your Father ("My Dad's bigger than your dad!" :) Remember that HE is your Ally and not your enemy. HE is for you and not against you. Acknowledge that those opponents in your life are strong; don't underestimate them. But don't overestimate them either - they are not the boss of you.
In Psalm 42, David wrote: "Why are you downcast, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God! For yet shall I praise Him, the hope of my countenance and my God." It's as if the Psalmist, though suffering, had a sobering moment and asked himself, "What are you crying about? REMEMBER JESUS!"
Remember Jesus. You are not alone. Mark 1:13 says that when Jesus was in the wilderness, being tempted by Satan and with the wild beasts, "angels were ministering to Him." He was not alone... and you are not alone. He is with you. He is ALWAYS still with you (Ps. 139:18).
"The Lord is on my side; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
The Lord is with me; He is my helper.
I will look in triumph on my enemies."
- Psalm 118:6-7
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