On the way home, I saw 7 or 8 police cars surrounding a house and immediately thought of my boys. My oldest son, Eric, is a police officer. Last week he went through an all-day special training called Force on Force. They spent the day training in buildings searching out potential armed suspects. They learned ways to go around a blind corner so their vital organs would not take a hit if the were shot. They practiced shooting left handed in case their blind corner needed them to shoot from that side. They spent the entire day in training against their potential enemy. They practiced their techniques often enough for it to become second nature, should a surprise attack come upon them.
My youngest son, Brent, is in the Marine Corps. He just came back from training to prepare for deployment to Afghanistan. They are trained on how to spot explosive devices hidden by the enemy. How to use their weapons against enemy fire. How to walk through mountainous terrain and wade through water, while still keeping their weapon ever- ready. They train long and hard to be prepared should a surprise attack come upon them.
Although I shudder as a mom to think of my boys in these training fields, I am also thankful for it. For I know, the more prepared they are to fight their enemy, the safer they will be. And every morning I whisper a prayer for their safety and pray Psalms 91:11 upon them that God would "Command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."
We too, battle an enemy. Unlike Eric and Brent, who don't always know who their enemy is, we do. We battle Satan as our enemy and his ways are just as covert and dangerous as those whom Eric and Brent go up against. He is disguised in pride, lust, jealousy and anger. He steals our time. He robs us of our joy. He plants doubts. The only way to protect ourselves from the enemy is to spend time in the Word. It is our training field. The more training we have the better prepared we will be against attack from the enemy. Time spent in training is not wasted time.
Are you prepared for the enemy's attack on your life? Because if he hasn't already done so, he stands ready to, at anytime. He tries to attack me often. Sometimes he will catch me totally by surprise. He finds the weakest areas of my life and attacks with a vengeance. It seems the closer I get to the Lord, the more he tries to attack me. The only way to be ready for it, is to train ourselves in His word. We have the weapons. "Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Ephesians 6:17)
The more training we have, the better prepared we are against attack. "Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me." (Psalms 119:147)
God's word is our training. Keep it close, read it often. And we will be prepared when the enemy attacks.
I'm looking forward to watching Eric's first softball game tonight. Several of the guys from his squad at the police department have a team, and they laugh and joke and tease each other unmercifully. But they have a good time. And a triple bonus! My grandchildren Dylan, Jayda and baby Cooper will be there. God is good!!
