Sneak Attack: How Men of God Can Defend Against the Enemy

This post is an excerpt from the book Basic Training for a Few Good Men, by Dr. Tim Kimmel.

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I stood on the edge of the floating memorial spanning the deck of the USS Arizona and tried to imagine how horrifying it must have been that Sunday morning back in 1941 when the Japanese fighter planes and bombers screamed down the valley, over Schefield Barracks, and then across the waters of Pearl Harbor and caught the U. S. Navy asleep. The old black and white films, while shocking, still can’t capture how absolutely frightening it must have been. That’s the nature of a sneak attack.

Anger has a bad habit of sneaking up on you. So do lustful thoughts. Most temptations spring up on you when you aren’t expecting them. Wise armies always post a guard to warn them of danger.

God has given you a radar system to forewarn you of a possible sneak attack from the world, the flesh, or the devil. In fact, you have several:

• Your conscience. God might give you a bad feeling about a movie you are driving to the mall to see. There is a good chance he is trying to spare you giving your flesh more garbage than it needs. There are all kinds of ways that God tips you off that you’re walking into a trap. You have got to be prepared to respond to the warnings.
• The Word. It’s fairly common to be reading the Scripture and have the Holy Spirit give you an insight into a possible nightmare that is developing in a certain area of your life.
• Your spouse. Your wife has two things going for her that enable her to be excellent radar warning you of possible danger. First, she has God-given intuitive skill that often make her more cautious. You might see this caution as a liability when it comes to risk taking, but God may use your wife’s caution to keep you out of harm’s way. A second advantage she brings to the table, is that she knows your strengths as well as your weaknesses. In light of the things happening around you and may see a problem long before it has time to take place. A man who listens to his wife’s concerns loses less money in bad investments, gets involved in fewer bad associations, and spends a lot less time asking God to forgive him for being so foolish.
• A wise officer asks the advice of his fellow officers. When you allow a few trustworthy men access to the inner regions of your heart, they can often anticipate the way traps may be set for you and warn you away from the direction you are going.

What happens, however, if you walk into an ambush? Training rules teach you to drop to cover and then defend yourself. In spiritual terms that adds up to dropping to your knees in prayer and then firing back at the attack with the truth of the Word of God. Usually, the mere presence of the Word of God in your daily life is enough to keep your three enemies from trying much.

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PS- For more great advice for men who want to live godly, courageous lives, check out Tim Kimmel’s book Basic Training for a Few Good Men.

PPS- The book makes a great gift for the important men in your life, and Father’s Day is right around the corner!