Fight to the end
March madness begins this week and, if it starts out like
previous tournaments, there will be a few blowouts in the first round. Whenever
you watch such a game, you can almost pinpoint the time in the game where the
losing team gives up hope of winning and accepts defeat. In high school games
you’ll often notice the coach start pulling his starters and giving his backup
players an opportunity for game experience. The coach and team have accepted
the fact that they will lose and simply want to get it over with.
However, on rare occasions, a team will still play as if
they have a chance to win when in reality they don’t. I remember a basketball
game where the losing team was down by about ten points with under ten seconds
to play and they were still trying to pull off the win. They kept fouling and
essentially making the deficit greater to overcome. But they did not want to
accept that they were going to lose the game until the final buzzer sounded.
I wonder if that’s how Satan operates. Over the years I’ve
heard many preachers and Bible teachers say, “Satan knows he’s defeated, but
wants to take as many people with him.” I question that maxim. I don’t question
that he wants to ruin the lives of people, but I do question the idea that he
knows he has lost. Jesus referred to Satan as the father of lies in John 8:44.
He is the master deceiver, and I believe he has even deceived himself. I think as
the father of lies, Satan has believed his own lie that he can defeat God
Almighty. He acts like that team scrapping till the very end hoping somehow to
pull off a miraculous win when everyone knows they are going to lose.
So what difference does it make anyway? Does it really
matter to us if Satan thinks he can win or knows he has lost? I think it does.
When a winning team sees their opponent has accepted defeat, they often go into
a coasting mode. They know they’ve got the win and can just ride the rest of
the game out until the buzzer sounds. But when their opponent keeps fighting,
it usually forces the winning team to play hard to the end.
The spiritual battle we’re in we know we will win. We know
Jesus has won the victory. But we face an enemy that will fight to the end, thinking
he can pull off an upset. We need to be on our guard and alert because we in a
battle against an enemy who won’t give up. “Stay
alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a
roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” –I Peter 5:8 (NLT)
Now is not the time to coast to victory. Though we know our
Savior Jesus is the Victor, we need to face every battle with full battle array
and top form. Satan thinks he can still win and will keep coming after every believer
with doubt, fear, discouragement, lust, greed, and a host of other weapons. Don’t
let up. Don’t let your guard down. Battle until the final trumpet sounds.
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