Be Ready to Fight

By Melissa Sharp

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”

1 Peter 5:8-10

“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

James 4:7

In a story published by KSL News Utah on August 1, 2024, it was reported: 

“a black bear was euthanized Wednesday night after biting a runner on a trail in Big Cottonwood Canyon earlier in the day, state wildlife officials said. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources responded to a report of a bear attack in the canyon shortly after 1:15 p.m. A man had been running along Mill D North Fork Trail when he said a bear approached him. He tried to back away and make himself look big to scare off the animal, but he tripped over a log and the bear bit him on his upper arm, according to division spokeswoman Faith Heaton Jolley. ‘The man kicked at the bear and was able to escape,’ she said. The hiker was able to get out of the canyon and drive himself to St. Mark’s Hospital in Millcreek, where he was treated for puncture wounds to his upper arm.”

When it comes to escaping from an enemy like the devil who is intent on harming us, we would do well to remember that we won’t win our battle against him and his schemes by playing dead and hoping he will go away. Instead, we are to “submit to God,” stand our ground, and resist temptation to the point of agonizing. Because a simple “no thank you” to the enemy’s attempts to lure us into sin will not make him flee or abandon his efforts to take us out. He is after us…lurking and prowling…waiting to destroy. It is a battle that is often so strenuous that it’s absolutely exhausting. But we MUST keep fighting! The devil will attack over and over and over again, which means that “resisting” will often take as much time, strength, and effort as—fighting off a bear!

Knowing that the enemy will never give up, let us vow to FIRST—make sure we are born again because we cannot fight our enemy without Christ! Then, we must be vigilant. We must strip away our pride, adopt the BE-attitudes of Jesus, live in total dependence on God, and put on our spiritual armor—every day. When the enemy comes (and it’s not a matter of “if” but “when”), we will not be caught unaware and will be ready to fight! 

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that we are in a spiritual battle each and every day. Remind us Lord that our enemy doesn’t want to come and just hurt us, but to kill us. Remind us that he does this by getting us to sin and to stray from You, Lord Jesus, help us to put on our spiritual armor each and every day and to rid ourselves of our pride and independence. It’s in Your precious name we pray, Jesus. Amen. 

Melissa Sharp

Melissa Sharp is an ultra runner and running coach who has completed more than 100 marathons and ultra marathons. Melissa has learned how to keep running the race of life for the glory of Christ even though she endured decades of domestic abuse. Melissa is a survivor. Through her daily blog thejoyfilledrunner she inspires others to live in the strength of Christ.