While we were at the youth rally in Conway a few weeks ago, I was walking around the building during some down time and I saw that someone had left their Bible laying on a table in the church’s foyer. There was nothing odd or special about that; there were hundreds of teens there that weekend. Someone was bound to leave their Bible laying around. What caught my attention, though, was that whoever owned the Bible had written some words on the outside edges of the pages, so that when the book was closed and all the pages lined up, you could read it. It read: “This is how I fight my battles.”

I had never seen that statement on a Bible before (I later did a Google search and found out that that saying was not uncommon, especially among younger people). But that saying has stuck with me and calls to mind a few very important things that the busyness of life tends to make me lose focus on.

  1. We’re in a battle. Ephesian 6:10-20 talks about the Armor of God. We are to don this armor as a means of protection against “the flaming darts of the evil one.” Many times throughout the New Testament, we are reminded that Satan is on the offensive, seeking to attack and ensnare us. The really scary part is, Satan is so crafty at fighting, we often forget that a fight is taking place and totally let our guard down. I’ve never read The Art of War, but that sounds like a tactic that the book would mention: Don’t let your opponent know that the battle is happening. Brothers and sisters, there is a battle going on.
  2. This battle is one that we are not strong enough to fight by ourselves. Satan is not all-powerful. Nor is he all-knowing or omnipresent. In fact, we’re not even fully aware of what he is capable or incapable of. However, here is what we do know. He knows the Word of God very well. I would venture to say that he knows every word of it. Satan even tried to use Scripture against Christ during His temptations. Satan does not tire as we humans do and does not give up because he won or lost any particular engagement. He is crafty as a serpent (Gen 3) and powerful as a lion (1 Pet 5). We are incapable of defeating Satan. However….
  3. God is infinitely more powerful than our enemy. It’s not even close. It is ridiculous how outmatched Satan is against God. And this is the important part for us. Since we cannot defeat Satan, the only way that we can fight our battles is with the Word of God. Jesus, Himself, set the example of using Scripture when under attack. In Matt 4, Jesus quotes Scripture to combat each of His temptations. He defended Himself with the Word of God, then ultimately defeated Satan, Sin, and Death by laying down His life for us.

So, how do we fight a battle that we cannot win? We use the weapon that has already defeated him. I’m not saying that you should write these words on the edge of your Bible, but the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of, God is how we fight our battles. All other ways we will be defeated.