Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints
— Ephesians 6:10–18
There is an enemy who wants you to give up. He cannot keep you from anything that God has for you, but he knows that you can. Therefore, he is doing everything he can to get you to quit and stop short of receiving God’s promises for you. It’s quite a strategy, and it is a shrewd effort to keep us from being effective at accomplishing God’s divine purposes for our lives.
Notice in the passage above that the keys to overcoming his attacks are putting on the proper spiritual equipment and then persevering through the tough times: times where God seems to be silent, times where you seem to be making very little progress. There will almost always be obstacles along the way but we don’t have to give in to them. We should stand firm, knowing that the battle has already been won.
When we know the result of a battle, a challenge, or even a game, we are able to enter in confidence. We do not have to fret over the outcome, because the victory is ours for the taking. The danger is not that the enemy will take us down, but that we will get discouraged and abandon the fight. Some will grow weary. Others will get distracted. In the end, the result is clear: we leave a lot on the table.
So as you walk through the day today, just remember that you will need to persevere and keep walking, even when you don’t feel like you are making any progress. Keep responding in obedience, and let him bring the victory to pass. I wish I could tell you it will be easy, but I can’t. What I can tell you is that it will be worth it as you will truly begin to understand what the Scripture means when it calls us “more than conquerors.”