A Battle To Fight

I was sitting on my back porch this afternoon with a diet coke and the book I'm currently reading. I was enjoying the beautiful weather and preparing for my week of worship. As I was reading, I heard a woodpecker hammering away on a tree in the woods behind my house. After hearing him do work on this tree for half an hour, I decided to go see if I could find him. As I walked into the woods, a huge hawk flew out of its nest and swooped down right in front of me. It startled me. I watched him soar through the trees, and continued on my search for the woodpecker. Well, he must of heard me coming, because I didn't hear him hammering on the tree anymore. So, I decided to stand still for a few minutes and wait for him to come back. Sure enough, I saw him fly back. In the top of an old, dead pine was a redheaded wood pecker working on his nest. I observed him for a few minutes and noticed something interesting. He would stick his head into the hole in the tree, hammer away for a few seconds, then come back out. He'd look to his right, to his left, and above him, then he would go back into the hole. A few pecks later, he would come back out, look to his right and left, then go back in. He did this over and over. I thought to myself...If he would just go in there and work on his nest and not keep coming out and looking around, it wouldn't take him as long to do his work! He should just relax and work on his nest.

Then it dawned on me. He does this because he's aware of the enemy around him. Just a few tree tops over is a hawk three times his size who could eat him for an afternoon snack. The woodpecker was constantly aware of his surroundings and always alert to the enemy.

Unfortunatley, we don't do that. We go through our day busy with life unaware of the enemy and his schemes. We endure our days not once thinking about how the enemy is attacking. Ironically, the chapter I was reading this afternoon was on spiritual warfare, and the battle we fight as Christians. The battle is real, and our enemy is Satan. The Bible says that Satan prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy. The Bible didn't say he's prowling around to tempt, but to devour. We have an Enemy, and his goal is to kill our hearts, steal our freedom, and destroy us. We are in a battle, and the most devestating thing we can do as Christians is to deny that the battle exists. We wonder why we don't live the abundant life Christ promised, but we don't consider the role Satan plays in destroying that life. Satan's workers are everywhere, and they are on the prowl.

As I watched the woodpecker's tactics I was amazed. He's very aware of the assault against his life, and he doesn't take it lightly. He doesn't relax for one second, because he knows if he does, the Enemy will prey on him like a lion. He is in a battle. You would think he wouldn't choose to build his nest next to a tree that houses a hawk. If he chose another tree, he wouldn't have to constantly be looking over his shoulder for the Enemy. But then again, he knows he can't run from the Enemy. The Enemy is everywhere, so he takes a stand, builds his nest, and fights.

We can't run from the Enemy and we can't hide from Satan. He's everywhere. The Bible says he's the prince of this world. We are never safe from his schemes, but we can fight. The Bible says "Resist the devil and he will flee from you". We can't always avoid temptaion, but we can be aware of Satan's lies and fight them. If we ignore spiritual wafare, we are in dangerous territory. If we deny a battle exists, we allow the enemy to kill, steal, and destroy. We have a battle to fight, and it's a nasty full on assault by Satan. We must fight for our hearts and for our ministry.

I'm going to take some advice from the redheaded woodpecker. I'm not going to live in ignorance and deny that there is a battle for my heart. I want to be aware of the Enemy and satans lies, and I want to constantly fight for my heart. Jesus has won the battle, but we still have to fight with Him! There is a battle raging, and it's a battle for my heart. I must fight!