Prepared

Si vis Pacem, Para Bellum is a Latin phrase often translated as “If you want peace, prepare for war.”

There is also a quote, and though I can’t track down who said it, I’m sure it was most likely derived from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and it goes something like –
“If you find yourself equally matched on the field of Battle, you have come unprepared.”

Ephesians 6: 11 & 12
11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

In the business world, it is often said that “Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail” and I frequently tell people that Luck is a poor substitute for a plan.

In Life, especially our Spiritual Life few things are truer. Traveling through life unprepared for whats next, counting on there not being an afterlife or hoping that God will just have pity on you at the judgment are both very poor plans.

Life is a battle to be won or lost by the choices we make here and Eternity is a long time to gamble on luck, hope or just deciding not to decide. Remember, not picking a side or not taking a stand is, in fact picking a side.
But, you can not fight the enemy and win on your own.  The devil has been at this a long time and knows what works, what trips you up.  We can’t stand against the wiles of the devil on our own.

Mistaken strength and over self-confidence are recipes for disaster when going into battle.  Check out the seven sons of Sceva in Acts 19: 14 – 16 for a good example.

Planning and Preparation are paramount to success in battlefield situations and in life.
In life we either:
Join the enemy.
Try to withstand on our own and lose.
Or we submit to the God of all creation and become His. Then through the power of the Holy Ghost, we can become victorious, as good soldiers of the Cross.

Because we alone don’t stand a chance against the devil, we often overestimate his power.  Because he and his imps fight against God, we often mistake him as God’s opposite.  He is not the opposite of God, he is just on the opposite side of God. God, the Creator of all things, has No Opposite or Equal. He alone is God

Psalms 86:10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.

Colossians 1: 16 – 20
16. For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
18. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
19. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
20. And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

So when God, who has no equal, comes to your rescue, you are no longer outnumbered, neither are you outmatched or equally matched against the enemy.

Think of it this way:
You are a puny weak kid on the playground. The devil is the schoolyard bully stealing your lunch money and pushing you around.  Some days you just give your money up without a fight. Other days you stand your ground, but he beats you up and takes it anyway.
Then one day you bring the United States Marine Corp, all of them, to School to stand off against the bully.
There is literally no comparison between God and satan.
I don’t believe that bringing the  United States Marine Corp to fight a schoolyard bully is an extreme enough analogy to demonstrate the differences between God and the devil.

Isaiah 14 has this to say about the devil and how small he really is.
15. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

God is Enough!
Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

2 Timothy 2:4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

You can not stand alone. You can not prepare enough to defeat the devil on your own.
If you want peace, prepare for war. Put on the whole armor of God.  If God be for us, who can be against us? He is all the Preparation you will ever need.

God Bless You Richly,
Greg