| “What king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage (messenger), and desireth conditions of peace” (Luke 14:31-32). |
| The world has known times of peace, when building could be done, but has also known times of war, when someone would attack, and try to take away what they had built. As in our verses today, sometimes the armies were not equal, and then the king with the smaller army might try to arrange a peace treaty, instead of going to war. |
| It can be like that in our Christian life too. We may be diligent in reading, prayer, and “building ourselves up on our most holy faith,” but then Satan comes along to attack us. He is like the king with twenty thousand soldiers, and we are like the king with only ten thousand. He is stronger than we are, and we may be tempted to make peace with Him, instead of resisting Him. But if we want a peace treaty, it is always the stronger person who dictates the terms of the peace treaty, and Satan is no different. He will promise us an easier life in this world, but he will force us to give up things that are very important to us as Christians. Sad to say, too many believers are doing that today, in order to have an easier life. Then we lose spiritually, even though our life may be easier. |
| What then is the answer, if Satan is stronger than we are? How are we to win the battle? We must ask the Lord for help, for He has already defeated Satan at the cross, and Satan knows this. For this reason James tells us, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). If we try to fight with Satan in our own strength, he will always win, but if we go out to battle with the Lord’s strength, we will always win. We may still have difficulties in this world, for the world has rejected the Lord Jesus. But we will have the joy in our souls of walking with the Lord, and honoring Him. |
